Petroleum products marketers have threatened an industry shutdown if the federal government enforces its planned activation of the price control mechanism aimed at driving down the current high prices of the commodity in the country.

The declaration followed calls by the federal government through the Minister of (State) for Petroleum Resources (Oil), the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) directed at petroleum products marketers to reflect the declining crude oil prices on the refined petroleum products.

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.

Reacting to the continued high pump prices of petroleum products, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, Monday in Abuja during the 2026 General Counsel and Legal Advisers’ Forum organised by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), 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 admitted 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.

Similarly, 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 FCCPC and the 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.

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

independent fuel marketers have pushed back against the Federal Government’s demand for cut in pump prices.

 

The marketers have threatened to shut down filling stations nationwide if the government imposes price controls despite the country’s deregulated fuel market.

Responding, Wednesday, to the development, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) warned that any attempt to impose price controls in the sector would violate the principles of deregulation and force marketers to suspend operations across the country.

National Publicity Secretary IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, threatened further that IPMAN would proceed to shut down its members filling stations nationwide if the government enforces planned price control mechanism.

“If the government tries to enforce price control, we will shut down our filling stations nationwide.

“You cannot operate a deregulated market and at the same time dictate the price marketers should sell their products without considering the cost of purchase,” Ukadike said.

He maintained that marketers were not exploiting Nigerians but were instead grappling with mounting financial losses arising from frequent downward adjustments in depot prices, particularly by the Dangote Refinery.

According to him, many marketers purchase products at higher rates with bank financing, only for depot prices to decline before their existing stock is exhausted.

He argued that the situation leaves them to absorb significant losses.

Ukadike said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provides for a market-driven pricing system, even as warned that government interference would discourage investment and undermine confidence in the downstream sector.

Rather than fixing prices, he urged the Federal Government to strengthen competition by supporting local refining, reviving state-owned refineries and creating an enabling environment for more importers and refiners to operate.

Also reacting, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, while admitting that the minister had the authority to intervene in the interest of consumers, said Mr. Lokpobiri should first engage stakeholders.

He called for an emergency meeting involving the Federal Government, regulators, refiners and marketers to resolve the pricing dispute through dialogue.