Petrol imports: Senate rejects NMDPRA figures, summons NNPCL, NEITI
The Senate has rejected petrol import figures from the NMDPRA for 2022 and 2023 due to wide discrepancies with records from the NNPCL, summoning both. Read More:…
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) is the agency charged with regulating the importation, storage and distribution of petroleum products, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has for years been the dominant, and at times sole, importer of petrol into the country. The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) separately audits and publishes figures on oil and gas production, exports and revenue to promote transparency in the sector. Petrol import data has long been a sensitive issue in Nigeria, given recurring questions over subsidy claims, foreign exchange spent on imports, and the true volume of fuel consumed domestically versus smuggled across borders.
This latest disagreement centres on 2022 and 2023 import figures, with the Senate finding the numbers submitted by NMDPRA inconsistent with NNPCL's own records. Coverage from Punch and Premium Times agrees on the core development — a Senate panel summoning all three bodies to account for the mismatch — though neither report yet details the size of the discrepancy, the specific volumes or costs involved, or when the agencies are expected to appear before lawmakers.