Economy
Reps Begin Nationwide Petrol Quality Probe Amid Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
The House of Representatives has begun a comprehensive investigation into Nigeria’s petroleum products supply chain and the quality of imported and refined products around the country.
The move, unconnected to the ongoing rift between Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, aims to ensure transparency, accountability, and security in the nation’s petroleum sector.
The investigation was disclosed in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the 2024 Midstream and Downstream Retreat organized by the House Committee on Petroleum Resources Midstream and Downstream themed Enhancing Regulatory Frameworks, Promoting Transparency, and Fostering Sustainable Development in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector.
Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Mr Ikenga Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu, said the retreat would provide strategic insights into the nation’s petroleum sector, emphasizing the sector’s role in the nation’s economy and the legislature’s responsibility to ensure its transparency.
Mr Ikeagwuonu revealed that the House has mandated both committees to investigate the crude oil supply chain, involving detailed laboratory investigations at local refineries, marketers, importers, and regulatory agencies.
He said the committee will also visit filing stations, depots, and tank farms to verify the quality of imported petroleum products and assess the testing capacity of refineries.
“The committee will undertake detail laboratory investigation at all local refineries, marketers, importers and regulatory agency lab like NMDPRA. We will visit various filing stations, depot and tank farms to verify the quality of imported petroleum products and assess the testing capacity of all refineries
“The collection of these samples will be for specimen and will be transparently done with all the key stakeholders.
“Zonal interaction committees will be constituted in order to ensure smooth movement to all the zones of the country for the purpose of taking samples for the Depot, Tank Farms and refineries for immediate analysis.
“We urge all those to be invited to provide full cooperation and support by providing all necessary documents, facts and insights that would aid our investigation.
“Our investigation will proceed in phases beginning with examination of standards petroleum products that are imported into the country and the crude oil supply chain. This investigation that the house has ordered us the main reason we are at this retreat to brainstorm on how to proceed and this investigation is crucial for restoring trust and ensuring the security and quality Nigeria’s petroleum sector in line with the renewed hope agenda of the president
“We are committed to accountability and transparency and thoroughness, and that we will do throughout the process. The investigation aims at to identify and resolve the issues plaguing Nigeria petroleum sector.
“Our interaction with stakeholders in the Midstream and Downstream sectors is crucial. It is through this interaction we will gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by our industry and collaboratively decide ways to ensure growth and sustainability.
“We are going to address allegations concerning the alleged importation of substandard petroleum products, the alleged production of substandard petroleum products, the non-availability of crude oil to domestic refineries and other critical issues,” the lawmaker said.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, represented by Mr Sada Soli, highlighted the significance of the retreat in strengthening and enhancing regulatory frameworks in the oil and gas sector.
Mr Abbas noted that the Petroleum Industry Act has addressed shortcomings in the sector, and this retreat provides an opportunity to reflect on the issues once again.
He noted that the retreat was crucial as it give the opportunity for continued conversation and dialogue initiative by the House of Representatives on strengthening and enhancing the regulatory framework of the oil and gas sector.
“Since the Petroleum Industry Act became a law, which provides the legal governance regulating the physical framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry.
“The Nigerian petroleum industry has witnessed total overhaul as provided by the Act. The PIA through its provisions address the shortcomings in the sector and provides timely remedies. The NNPC has been restructured and repositioned with hope that it will serve the Nigerian citizenry better.
“Through the incorporation of the NNPC as a liability company, the NNPC now is to become a full fledged company free to operate as a business entity and effectively engage with other stakeholders and partners in the competitive market in order to make petroleum products available and affordable to the people.
“This retreat offers us another opportunity to evaluate and implementation of the PIA in promoting transparency, accountability, economic recovery, transformation and growth of the oil sector, as well as the key roles of the players in the industry,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
