While emphasising that industrialisation should be Nigeria’s priority, he noted that sustainable economic transformation is anchored on production, value addition, and industrial capability, and not import dependence.

He pointed out that suggestion that supply-side constraints should be addressed through increased imports runs counter to Nigeria’s long-term development aspirations.

The desired policy direction, according to him, would be to allow Nigeria to expand domestic refining capacity and not issue more import licences for petroleum products.

He pointed out that encouraging importation at this stage would undermine investor confidence in local refining, weaken backward integration, and reverse progress towards energy security.

The World Bank, last week, advised Nigeria to urgently reopen the petrol import market and dismantle long-standing trade restrictions or face a renewed inflation surge, pointing to tightening supply conditions and rising global oil prices as immediate risks to current price stability.

In its April 2026 Nigeria Development Update (NDU), the bank has clear policy actions centred on removing supply-side constraints, warning that without decisive intervention, inflationary pressures could intensify despite recent moderation.

Yusuf recalled that Nigeria’s historical reliance on imported petroleum products led to the collapse of domestic refining capacity, created a rent-seeking import regime with significant leakages, imposed an annual import burden estimated at $10–15 billion at its peak, and exposed the economy to severe foreign exchange and fiscal pressures.

He vehemently opposed the World Bank’s proposal, saying it’s not proper at a time Nigeria is gradually transitioning towards greater self-sufficiency in petroleum products supply, driven by significant private investments in domestic refining capacity.

He pointed out that recent developments in domestic refining, particularly the operationalisation of Dangote Refinery, have demonstrated Nigeria’s capacity to achieve self-sufficiency in petroleum products, subject to supportive policy frameworks.

“The ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have further underscored the dangers of energy dependence. Global supply disruptions are quickly transmitted into domestic price shocks, amplifying inflationary pressures and eroding business margins,” he said

“The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) expresses strong reservations about the policy proposition by the World Bank in its recent Nigerian Development update, advocating increased importation of petroleum products and food as a solution to Nigeria’s supply-side constraints.

“This recommendation is deeply troubling and fundamentally misaligned with Nigeria’s current economic realities and reform trajectory.

“At a time when the country is making measurable progress in restoring macroeconomic stability—evidenced by improving foreign reserves, moderating inflation, a more stable exchange rate regime, and growing capacity for the export of refined petroleum products—the policy priority should be to consolidate these gains, not undermine them.”

According to him, this momentum should be strengthened through deliberate policies that support local production, enhance value addition, and deepen industrial linkages within the economy.

According to him, encouraging increased importation of petroleum products at this stage risks reversing hard-won gains.

Such decision, he said, would exacerbate foreign exchange pressures, weaken domestic refining investments, and heighten the economy’s vulnerability to external shocks—particularly in a global environment characterised by geopolitical tensions and energy market volatility.

He stated that the emphasis, therefore, should be on expanding and stabilising domestic production capacity, ensuring reliable crude supply to local refineries on competitive terms, and fostering an enabling environment for downstream sector investments.

“This is the pathway to sustainable energy security, economic resilience, and long-term industrial development—not a return to import dependence,” Yusuf said.

According to him, what the Nigerian economy urgently requires is a coherent industrial strategy that:

Expands domestic production capacity; strengthens manufacturing competitiveness; and deepens value chains across critical sectors.

He explained that import-driven solutions risk accelerating de-industrialisation, weakening the real sector, and undermining job creation prospects in an economy with a rapidly growing labour force.

The assumption that trade liberalisation enhances competition; he said has failed to reflect the structural realities facing Nigerian producers.

He reeled out poor logistics and transport infrastructure, high cost of energy, elevated financing costs, with lending rates often exceeding 25–30 per cent, multiple taxation, fees and regulatory burdens as some of the issues domestic firms contend with.

Yusuf said the notion of “competition” between imports and domestic production was both misleading and inequitable.

According to him, what is being presented as market competition is, in reality, “a structural asymmetry that places domestic producers at a significant disadvantage”.

“Nigerian refiners and other manufacturers operate in a high-cost environment—characterised by elevated energy costs, logistics bottlenecks, infrastructure deficits, high interest rates, and policy uncertainties—while many foreign competitors benefit from far more enabling ecosystems, including state-backed subsidies, efficient infrastructure, and lower financing costs.

“This is not a level playing field. It is effectively a contest between structurally constrained local investors and globally competitive firms with systemic advantages. Such a framework cannot deliver efficient market outcomes; rather, it undermines domestic capacity, discourages investment, and perpetuates import dependence.

“Beyond the issue of structural imbalance, there are also legitimate concerns around the quality of imported petroleum products and the risk of dumping.

“In the absence of robust quality assurance and trade safeguards, the domestic market could be exposed to substandard products, with implications for consumer protection, environmental standards, and the sustainability of local refining investments.

“A policy stance that tolerates such distortions not only weakens domestic industry but also compromises Nigeria’s long-term objective of achieving energy security, industrial self-reliance, and sustainable economic growth.

Sustainable competition should be fostered within a strengthened domestic industrial ecosystem, not through exposure to import pressures,” the CCPE’s CEO said.

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