Nigeria’s top oil workers’ union has urged the government to clamp down on petroleum marketers inflating pump prices, despite a global drop in crude oil prices, saying regulatory inaction is costing ordinary Nigerians dearly.
At a world press conference in Abuja on Monday, Mr Festus Osifo, President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), criticised the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for failing to protect consumers from excessive pricing.
“Crude oil prices have fallen to $60 per barrel, yet we’re still paying between N850 and N900 per litre at the pumps,” Osifo said. “This defies logic and stems from the regulator’s failure to establish and enforce a transparent pricing framework.”
He called on NMDPRA to publicly release fuel price benchmarks and ensure fair competition in the downstream sector. “If prices don’t adjust downward with global trends, Nigerians will continue to be exploited,” he warned.
PENGASSAN also welcomed the federal government’s recent Executive Order aimed at cutting costs in upstream oil operations. Osifo said oil companies are burdened with unsustainable security expenses—something he believes is driving foreign investors away.
“In Nigeria, companies must deploy multiple armed vessels to secure offshore and onshore facilities. This is not the norm elsewhere and it’s a major reason international firms are pulling out,” he said.
Commenting on Nigeria’s ongoing refinery woes, Osifo advocated for the adoption of the NLNG joint-ownership model, where the government holds a minority stake and private sector partners take the lead.
“The model has proven successful in the gas sector. Applying it to our refineries could finally solve decades of inefficiency,” he added.
On industrial relations, he confirmed that the union had reached an agreement with Sterling Oil Company after concerns were raised about their recruitment of foreign workers.
