The House of Representatives has begun moves to address lingering challenges in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, opposing the continued imposition of United States dollar-denominated charges on locally refined petroleum products and announcing plans to investigate alleged irregularities in the allocation of fuel import licences.

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The House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) disclosed this on Tuesday during an interactive session with stakeholders, including the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), and the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN). Committee Chairman, Ikenga Ugochinyere, said the National Assembly would engage the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), refiners and other relevant agencies as part of its review of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). He described the continued collection of port charges in U.S. dollars for domestic petroleum transactions as harmful to the economy, warning that it ultimately increases the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

Ugochinyere also said the committee would investigate claims that fuel import licences for the first three quarters of 2026 were repeatedly allocated to the same group of marketers. Presenting DAPPMAN’s position, Executive Secretary Olufemi Adewole warned that over 72 of Nigeria’s 154 licensed petroleum depots had recorded little or no commercial activity in the past year due to an uneven playing field and dependence on a single supplier of petrol. IPMAN President Abubakar Shettima, meanwhile, called for the establishment of a Petroleum Bank to provide marketers with single-digit interest loans, saying operators currently borrow at interest rates of up to 32 per cent. He also urged greater access to locally refined products and proposed that independent marketers be allowed to participate in managing government-owned refineries to improve efficiency and strengthen Nigeria’s energy security.