By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja
The Federal Government has directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, to ensure that petroleum marketers do not exploit Nigerians through excessive pricing under the deregulated downstream market.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, gave the directive on Monday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 NMDPRA General Counsel and Legal Advisers Forum.
The two-day forum has the theme “Beyond Compliance: Driving Regulatory Certainty and Investment Confidence in Nigeria’s Petroleum Sector”.
Lokpobiri said although the downstream sector had been fully deregulated, the regulator must ensure that deregulation does not become an avenue for profiteering at the expense of consumers.
