Lokpobiri Says Deregulation Limits Government Control of Petrol Prices

Nigeria’s petroleum minister said the federal government cannot arbitrarily lower or raise petrol prices under the country’s fully deregulated downstream market, arguing that price controls would require a return to fuel subsidies. Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), said prices are shaped by international market forces because crude oil and refined products are traded globally. Lokpobiri made the comments in an interview on Tuesday, September 22, as petrol prices remained a concern for consumers. He said the government had no power to set prices under the current policy and that increasing domestic crude production would not necessarily make locally refined fuel cheaper. He also argued that crude sold to Nigerian refineries is priced in line with international markets. To support his defense of deregulation, Lokpobiri cited average petrol prices of about ₦1,430 per litre in Nigeria and ₦1,633 in the United States. He also gave figures of ₦1,959 for Cameroon and ₦2,070 for Ghana and South Africa. The comparisons were his estimates; the reports did not provide a shared measurement date or methodology for comparing prices across countries.