By Abdulfatah Babatunde
Lagos, Feb. 9, ’25 (TNZ) The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has commended the Federal Government’s decision to ban crude oil export allocated to domestic refineries.
TMSG’s Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, gave the commendation in a statement emailed to TheNewsZenith on Sunday.
The group expressed shock that some 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude set aside for local refining are going into the international market.
“We are aware that the policy on setting aside some barrels of crude oil for local refiners under the Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligation (DCSO) is in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
“It is also on record that President Bola Tinubu’s administration, in October 2024, directed that crude oil allocated to refineries be made exclusively available to them in naira.
“This is part of efforts to bolster and encourage domestic refining and flood the local market with surplus fuel for the benefit of Nigerians.
“But like many Nigerians, we are surprised to learn that barrels of crude meant for refineries as feedstock are being diverted into the international market.
“This is in flagrant violation of extant regulations,” TheNewsZenith quotes from the statement.
The group considered this as a case of economic sabotage. It, however, commended the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for moving fast to stop this nefarious act.
The act, it stated, “is capable of disrupting local fuel supply at a time the country has successfully boosted its domestic refining capacity to almost 770,500 barrels per day”.
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TMSG noted that if local refineries were not getting necessary crude supplies, then they would be justified to look elsewhere for feedstock.
Marketers, it added, would also have no choice but to import petroleum products to remain in business.
This will ultimately have some impact on the availability of petroleum products locally as well as the pricing.
“So, it is gratifying that the Federal Government has, through its responsive regulatory authorities, read out the riot act to oil exploration and production companies.
“This is due to the implication of violating the laws of the land on the issue.
“We urge the authorities to put in place appropriate measures for effective implementation and strict enforcement of the law.
“Rather, they should not play catch-up and emphasise sanctions for recalcitrant companies,” TheNewsZenith quoted TMSG as stating.
The group stated there was no reason why local refineries should not have access to crude. This is in line with laid down policies.
“Any attempt to frustrate Nigerians from benefitting from President Bola Tinubu’s peoples-oriented policies will be stoutly resisted,” the group said.
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