Fuel marketers have warned that filling stations across Nigeria may be shut down if the Federal Government moves to enforce price control in the deregulated petroleum sector.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, issued the warning following comments by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, on the need to protect consumers from exploitation.
Lokpobiri had said at the 2026 General Counsel and Legal Advisers Forum organised by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority in Abuja that while fuel prices should be determined by market forces, regulators must ensure transparency and fairness.
Reacting, Ukadike said any attempt to impose government-controlled pricing in a deregulated market would be resisted by marketers.
“Marketers will shut down if they try somehow to enforce price control. We are going to shut down our stations nationwide. You can’t regulate a deregulated market without knowing how much I bought my product,” he said.
Ukadike said independent marketers had suffered losses due to frequent changes in petrol prices, adding that many bought products at higher costs only for prices to drop before sales were completed.
He urged the Federal Government to encourage more refineries to operate and improve crude oil supply, saying competition, not price control, would help reduce fuel prices.
Also speaking, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, said government had a duty to protect consumers but must consult widely with stakeholders before taking any action.
He called for dialogue among regulators, marketers and other players in the petroleum sector to balance consumer protection with business survival.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority said it had not received any official briefing on plans by the Federal Government to introduce fuel price control.
Petrol currently sells between ₦1,140 and ₦1,210 per litre, depending on location.