The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has warned that growing calls for unrestricted importation of petroleum products could push Nigeria towards deindustrialisation, weaken domestic industries and deepen the country’s economic dependence on imports.
In a statement on Sunday signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Muda Yusuf, the group argued that Nigeria risks undermining its industrial future if it embraces what it described as “unbridled importation” at a time the country should be strengthening local refining capacity.
According to the CPPE, the debate over fuel imports goes beyond petroleum products and touches on Nigeria’s broader economic direction, industrialisation goals and economic sovereignty.
“No nation has ever imported its way to industrial greatness,” the group said. “Prosperous economies are built on production, refining, manufacturing, value addition and the strengthening of domestic productive capacity.”
The CPPE said Nigeria’s past dependence on imported fuel created major economic distortions, including pressure on foreign reserves, a weaker naira, worsening foreign exchange shortages, fiscal burdens and the collapse of domestic refineries.
It noted that during the fuel subsidy era, Nigeria spent trillions of naira subsidising imported petroleum products while transferring jobs, industrial opportunities and value creation abroad.
The country, it added, was spending over $10 billion yearly on fuel imports.
The organisation warned against recreating conditions that previously weakened the economy, saying import dependence had contributed to exchange rate pressure, trade deficits, weak industrial competitiveness and macroeconomic fragility.
The CPPE defended domestic refining investments, citing the Dangote Refinery and modular refinery projects as major industrial developments that should be supported rather than undermined by policies favouring unrestricted imports.
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“What message are we sending to investors if a multi-billion-dollar refinery investment of continental significance is confronted with regulatory uncertainty and policy headwinds?” the statement asked.
The group maintained that competition should come through encouraging more local refining investments, not through import promotion.
It added that fiscal protection for domestic refining would not be unusual, noting that Nigeria already applies tariff and fiscal protections to sectors including textiles, pharmaceuticals, cement, food processing and automobile assembly.
CPPE also argued that Nigerian manufacturers operate under severe disadvantages such as high energy costs, poor infrastructure, multiple taxes, expensive financing, logistics bottlenecks and exchange rate volatility, while foreign competitors enjoy more supportive business environments.
“Trade liberalisation without competitiveness is not integration; it is deindustrialisation,” the group said.
It pointed to the collapse of formerly prominent Nigerian industries, including tyre manufacturers Dunlop and Michelin, textile mills, battery makers, automobile assembly plants and electronics firms, saying many were damaged by indiscriminate import liberalisation and unfair competition rather than inefficiency alone.
The group warned that the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could become disruptive for Nigerian manufacturers unless urgent action is taken to strengthen local production capacity and improve competitiveness.
CPPE dismissed claims portraying the Dangote Refinery as a monopolistic threat, arguing that scale and large investment should not be mistaken for abuse of market power.
“Scale creates competitiveness. Scale lowers unit costs. Scale deepens value chains. Scale strengthens economic resilience,” it said.
The organisation further argued that every imported fuel cargo translates into lost jobs, weaker local value chains, additional pressure on foreign reserves and greater economic vulnerability, while domestic refining promotes energy security, foreign exchange conservation, job creation and macroeconomic stability.
Drawing lessons from Nigeria’s recent food importation experience, the CPPE said large-scale imports weakened local agricultural value chains and disrupted investments in domestic farming, even though they temporarily eased consumer prices.
“The refining sector must not be subjected to the same policy error,” it said.
The group maintained that Nigeria must choose between building a production-driven economy and remaining trapped in a consumption-led model.
“The future of Nigeria’s economic resilience lies in production, refining, manufacturing and value addition — not in the perpetuation of import dependence,” the CPPE added.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X