Falana urges FG to end petrol imports, use 450k barrels/day for local refineries
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana urged the federal government to stop petrol importation and ensure the 450,000 barrels of crude oil allocated daily for domestic consumption are supplied to local refineries. Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Falana argued that making crude available to domestic refiners would cut Nigeria’s reliance on imported petroleum products and ease hardship from the petrol subsidy removal in May 2023. He said the subsidy regime was unsustainable and plagued by alleged fraud, yet Nigerians have not seen sufficient benefits from the extra revenue accruing to the three tiers of government. Falana noted discrepancies in consumption figures, pointing out that while local consumption was reported at 68 million litres per day, NNPC claimed to supply over 98 million litres. He highlighted that fuel importation still accounts for about 43% of consumption despite operational refineries, with the Dangote Refinery supplying about 98% of the 53.7 million barrels of crude and condensate domestic refiners received in Q2 2026. He said the $10 billion annually earmarked for fuel imports should have been saved but instead goes to debt servicing and naira devaluation. Falana urged accountability for allocations, citing unresolved road projects despite local government funds, and proposed two measures: NNPC must account for the daily 450,000-barrel allocation, and the federal government must enforce the Supreme Court judgment directing statutory allocations to be paid directly to local governments. The debate intensifies ahead of the 2027 elections, with Atiku Abubakar promising partial subsidy restoration and Peter Obi backing removal but calling for judicious use of funds. Will the federal government heed Falana’s call to end petrol imports, use the daily crude allocation for local refineries, and ensure local government funds are paid directly as ordered by the Supreme Court?