Federal Government has expressed displeasure with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol marketers over the continued high pump price of the product despite the easing of global tensions in the Middle East which triggered the rise in the first place.

The government, therefore, urged the marketers to reflect the recent decline in international crude oil prices in the pump price of petrol, while reiterating that fuel pricing remains subject to market forces under Nigeria’s deregulated downstream petroleum sector.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, made the call on Monday in Abuja during the 2026 General Counsel and Legal Advisers’ Forum organised by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

The minister said the easing of geopolitical tensions between Iran and the United States had led to expectations of lower international crude oil prices, which should ordinarily translate into a reduction in the prices of petrol and other petroleum products in the domestic market.

“Following the de-escalation of tensions between Iran and the United States, we expected to see commensurate downward adjustment in the prices of PMS and other petroleum products. However, that has not yet happened,” Lokpobiri said.

He expressed optimism that market dynamics would eventually bring prices into equilibrium but maintained that regulators must ensure deregulation is not exploited to the detriment of consumers.

“While we believe that market forces will eventually restore equilibrium, the regulator also has a statutory responsibility to ensure that deregulation does not become an avenue for profiteering. This must be done in line with the extant provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA),” he stated.

Lokpobiri stressed that the Federal Government no longer has the power to fix or reduce petrol prices following the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

According to him, fuel prices are now determined by market forces, making competition, supply and demand the primary factors influencing pump prices.

He, however, said the NMDPRA has a statutory responsibility to monitor operators and ensure that consumers are protected from unfair pricing practices.

He noted that the policy created the environment that enabled the commencement of operations at the Dangote Refinery while encouraging the development of other refinery projects across the country.

“It also ensured that artificial scarcity has become a thing of the past. You can attest to the fact that since 2023 there has been availability of product in the country even with the recent challenges posed by the US-Iran conflict,” he said.

Meanwhile, rising from Monday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the federal government is engaging oil marketers and regulators to ensure reductions in global crude oil market prices are reflected more transparently in the pump price of fuel.

Oyedele said the government is seeking a balance between protecting consumers and allowing operators in the downstream sector to remain commercially viable.

The minister said petroleum products marketers are often quick to raise pump prices when crude oil prices increase because of replacement costs, but slower to reduce prices when crude prices fall due to existing inventory.

“We are working to strike a balance between ensuring operators remain commercially viable and protecting Nigerians from unfair pricing,” Oyedele said.

Oyedele further disclosed that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) are already addressing the issue under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

The minister said petrol prices in neighbouring countries are between 20 and 50 percent higher because those taxes remain in place.

Oracle Intelligence notes that global crude oil prices have dropped significantly to $73.12 as at Monday from the peak of $120 per barrel in April due to a ceasefire accord between the U.S. and Iran two weeks ago and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Over the weekend, the Brent Crude dropped to $71.99, the lowest since the Iran war started.

However, petrol still sells at an average of N1,200 while some local refiners fixed between N1,025 and N1,075 as their gantry prices despite the recent reduction of the prices by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Dangote Refinery.

Marketers had earlier maintained that the ongoing drop in the crude oil prices will not translate to express reduction in local prices of the product on the ground that they needed to exhaust old supplies procured when prices were high.

According to them, it will take a minimum of six months for lower pump prices to reflect in the local market