Business
CPPE warns against unrestricted fuel imports
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has warned against growing calls for unbridled importation of petroleum products. It argued that such a policy could undermine Nigeria’s industrialisation drive, weaken domestic refining investments, and deepen economic vulnerability.
In a statement issued on Sunday, CPPE’s Chief Executive Officer, Muda Yusuf, said the debate around petroleum imports went beyond fuel supply and touches on the broader issues of economic sovereignty, industrial development, and macroeconomic resilience.
The advice comes amid an ongoing legal dispute between Dangote Refinery and the federal government following the issuance of fresh fuel import licences to major petroleum marketers by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
On 15 May, the local refinery filed a fresh lawsuit against Nigeria’s Attorney-General, seeking the reversal of fuel import licences issued to oil marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd).
In response, NNPC Ltd accused Dangote Refinery of attempting to dominate Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector through the legal action challenging the import licences granted to competing marketers.
The national oil company maintained that existing laws allow import licences to firms holding local refining licences or those with proven experience in international crude oil and petroleum products trading.
Advocacy
The CPPE in its statement on Sunday said no country had achieved industrial greatness through excessive dependence on imports.
“CPPE is deeply concerned by the growing advocacy for unbridled importation of petroleum products at a time when Nigeria should be consolidating domestic refining capacity and accelerating its industrialisation journey.
“This debate goes far beyond petroleum products. It speaks to the very architecture of Nigeria’s economic philosophy, the future of industrialisation, the resilience of the macroeconomy, and ultimately, the preservation of the country’s economic sovereignty. No nation has ever imported its way to industrial greatness,” the group said.
CPPE argued that Nigeria’s long-standing dependence on imported fuel had contributed significantly to pressure on foreign reserves, exchange rate instability, fiscal leakages, and the collapse of local refineries.
The group warned that recreating conditions that encouraged import dependence could reverse recent economic reforms and destabilise the foreign exchange market, citing Nigeria’s expenses on petroleum imports in the past.
“At the height of the fuel subsidy era, Nigeria spent trillions of naira annually subsidising imported fuel, effectively transferring national wealth, jobs, industrial opportunities, and value creation to foreign economies and their local collaborators. The country was also spending over $10 billion annually on petroleum product imports,” it said.
The think-tank maintained that self-reliance in petroleum refining should be viewed as economic pragmatism rather than isolationism, stressing that every serious economy protects its strategic sectors.
CPPE also referenced the USA, China, and the European countries that embraced industrial policy and supported manufacturing competitiveness to transform their respective economies, saying Nigeria should not be a destination for imported goods.
“The consequences were severe and far-reaching: persistent pressure on the exchange rate, widening trade deficits, weak industrial competitiveness, massive fiscal leakages, investor uncertainty and macroeconomic fragility,” the organisation stated.
“The United States is deploying tariffs and industrial subsidies to support manufacturing competitiveness. China aggressively protects strategic industries. Europe is increasingly embracing industrial policy intervention. India continues to deepen domestic manufacturing through its ‘Make in India’ agenda.
“Industrialisation has never been built on extreme liberalisation. No nation develops by turning itself into an attractive destination for imported goods,” the group said.
The organisation also defended the need for strategic policy support for local refining investments, particularly the Dangote Refinery and modular refineries across the country.
“Nigeria has just witnessed one of the most consequential industrial investments in Africa through the establishment of the Dangote Refinery, alongside growing investments in modular refineries across the country. These investments should ordinarily be strategically supported, celebrated, and strengthened.
“Instead, there appears to be mounting pressure for unrestricted importation of refined petroleum products, a policy orientation capable of undermining domestic refining investments and discouraging future industrial commitments. This presents a troubling contradiction in policy signalling,” the think-tank said.
Unrestricted competition
CPPE argued that calls for unrestricted competition between imported and locally produced petroleum products ignore the structural disadvantages confronting Nigerian manufacturers, including poor infrastructure, high energy costs, elevated interest rates, and foreign exchange volatility.
“Competition can only be meaningful where production occurs under broadly comparable macroeconomic, structural, and regulatory conditions. In the absence of such parity, what is often presented as ‘competition’ merely becomes the institutionalisation of structural disadvantage against domestic industries.
“Local enterprises should not be subjected to destructive competition under profoundly asymmetric conditions. Such an approach would not promote efficiency; it would undermine industrialisation, weaken domestic investment, erode jobs, compromise economic sovereignty, and deepen import dependence,” CPPE said.
The organisation further noted that indiscriminate liberalisation had contributed to the collapse of several once-thriving Nigerian industries, including tyre manufacturing firms, textile mills, battery producers, and automobile assembly plants.
According to CPPE, the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area could also become disruptive if deliberate steps are not taken to strengthen domestic competitiveness.
Monopoly concerns
On concerns over monopoly in the refining sector, the organisation dismissed claims that Dangote Refinery posed a monopolistic threat.
CPPE said the Dangote Refinery should be acknowledged for undertaking an extraordinary industrial investment at a scale unprecedented in Africa without collapsing state-owned refineries.
“Attempts to portray Dangote Refinery as a monopolistic threat are simplistic, fundamentally flawed, and grossly unfair. The refinery did not prevent other investors from entering the sector. It did not cause the collapse of state-owned refineries. It simply undertook an extraordinary industrial investment at a scale unprecedented in Africa.
“Scale creates competitiveness. Scale lowers unit costs. Scale deepens value chains. Scale strengthens economic resilience. Scale should not be criminalised,” CPPE stated.
Industrial policies
The group concluded by urging the government to pursue consistent industrial policies that support domestic production, reduce import dependence, and strengthen local value chains.
READ ALSO: NNPC accuses Dangote refinery of seeking fuel monopoly in court filing
“Nigeria cannot achieve meaningful industrialisation without deliberate and sustained support for domestic production. Industrial transformation requires: strategic protection, policy consistency, strong domestic value chains, support for local investors, and a reduction in import dependence.
“No economy becomes prosperous by importing what it can produce domestically. The future of Nigeria’s economic resilience lies in production, refining, manufacturing, and value addition, not in the perpetuation of import dependence,” CPPE added.
PZ Cussons Nigeria attributed its robust profit growth for the year ended 31 May 2026 to proceeds from asset disposal rather than to its regular sources of income that had shaped its financial performance in the past, according to its latest earnings report.
Net profit for the consumer goods company advanced nearly fourfold to N49.1 billion, thanks to profit on the disposal of fixed assets, which delivered N38.7 billion, compared with N6.5 million a year earlier.
The maker of home and personal care products, which also distributes consumer electronics, highlighted the sale of three properties and the facilities previously used by PZ Wilmar Limited, a former joint venture partner, as key drivers.
Last June, PZ Cussons announced it had offloaded its 50 per cent interest in PZ Wilmar, an enterprise set up for the production of palm oil and other edible oils, to Singapore-based Wilmar, which, until the closure of the deal, held the other half of the total shares.
The deal was for a cash consideration of $70 million.
“Proceeds will be used to reduce gross debt and, as a result, the group’s key credit and bank covenant metrics are materially improved,” PZ Cussons said at the time.
Revenue for the period under review climbed by 22.5 per cent to N260.5 billion. The company attributed the growth to the strength of its business, the equity of its brands, and the discipline of execution.
Foreign exchange gain stood at N11.8 billion, in contrast to a loss of N7.8 billion one year prior, softening the blow that spikes in selling and distribution expenses and administrative costs would have had on operating profit, which rose by 307.2 per cent.
READ ALSO: PZ Cussons releases full year results, records N260.46bn revenue
Profit before tax increased by 364.1 per cent to N77.3 billion, while profit after tax rose to N49.1 billion from N10.1 billion.
“The business grew volumes in both the electrical and consumer business, leveraging investment in our brands and sharpening our route-to-market capabilities,” the board of directors said in a statement on Friday.
“The result has been market share gains by our major brands, increased household penetration, and robust volume uplift contributing to overall revenue growth,” it added.
PZ Cussons, which logged negative shareholder funds in 2024 and 2025, recorded a positive net asset position this time around at N70.6 billion.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Friday dismissed a decision of the Court of Appeal ordering the seizure of FPSO Tamara Tokoni, a vessel containing crude oil pledged by oil-servicing firm General Hydrocarbons as collateral for a loan facility obtained from First Bank.
The five-member panel of judges, according to This Day newspaper, directed the release of the content of the vessel to General Hydrocarbons because the lawsuit initiated by the lender is contractual and not an admiralty matter.
In a similar vein, the court held that the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal lack jurisdiction to hear the suit, given that the litigation is an admiralty dispute.
In September 2025, the Court of Appeal had ordered the sale of the crude oil aboard the vessel, directing that the proceeds be deposited in an interest-bearing escrow account under the custody of the chief registrar of the Court of Appeal.
The court threw out an earlier ruling of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, which dismissed First Bank’s claims over the diversion of proceeds from the sale of crude oil.
The appellate court affirmed the dispute’s maritime nature and emphasised the importance of preserving the res (the crude oil cargo) as the core subject of litigation.
Background
Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts, chaired by Jide Omokore, an associate of a former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, obtained a credit facility from First Bank in 2011.
The $490 million loan was to finance the firm’s operating and capital expenditure requirements for drilling four oil wells with proven reserves (collectively known as the Forcados assets) and to fund its Strategic Alliance Agreement with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).
Atlantic Energy’s assets and rights were pledged as collateral, with First Bank holding a charge over the company’s collection accounts. The debt went bad after payment defaults by Atlantic Energy
“In line with our commitment to address the legacy asset quality challenges, exposure to Atlantic Energy, our biggest NPL (non-performing loan), was written off in the second quarter,” Adesola Adeduntan, First Bank’s former CEO, said in 2019.
According to its financial report, First Bank reduced its non-performing loan ratio to 14.5 per cent as of June 2019, down from 25.3 per cent, after writing off the N126 billion loan.
Oba Otudeko, then chairman of FBN Holdings (now First HoldCo), later sought the help of Nduka Obaigbena, owner of General Hydrocarbons, to salvage First Bank from a potentially disastrous situation. That prompted the duo to agree to work together, according to Mr Obaigbena, who held an approved oil mining lease (OML) from former President Umaru Yar’Adua.
In a letter written to Yemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, dated 7 November 2024 and seen by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Obaigbena argued that the NNPC under late Maikanti Baru failed to sign the security documents for the now bad, non-performing loan to Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Nigeria Limited (Atlantic Energy) for OML 26, OML 42, OML30 and OML 34 under separate Strategic Alliance Agreements between Atlantic Energy and NPDC Limited, claiming it was a fraudulent scheme to defraud the Federal Government by the then minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke.
He noted that it was obvious during the meeting, which he claimed to be part of, that the facilities granted to Atlantic Energy by First Bank did not follow due process.
“FBN was now faced with an unsecured and non-performing exposure of $718M and was on the verge of becoming a systemic risk to the banking sector,” he stated.
“It was discovered that FBN had given this loan recklessly without security as part of a scheme that funded Diezani Allison-Madueke and Kola Aluko (details of these are still being investigated by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, NCA),” Mr Obaigbena added.
He noted that First Bank, AMCON, and General Hydrocarbons signed a tripartite deed on outstanding exposure, allowing Global Hydrocarbons to guarantee payment of a pending, now-discounted, outstanding exposure of $600 million in naira on the bank’s books.
“Once GHL signed the Outstanding Exposure Tripartite Deed effective 31st December 2021, FBN’s account, which was then classified by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was now whole agai,n having escaped a loan loss provision of 302Bn Naira against a profit of 151Bn Naira ultimately declared for the year ending 31st December 2021,” the document stated.
Last September, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos granted an injunction restraining AMCON from appointing a receiver over General Hydrocarbons and its assets.
The court also forbade AMCON, its managing director, First Bank and the attorney general of the federation from taking any steps or continuing any moves to enforce any rights against the energy firm or its assets.
The rights, the court said, included “but not limited to freezing the accounts of the applicant, its directors or shareholders, the appointment of a receiver/receiver manager, asset manager, recovery agent, etc., over the applicant, the applicant’s assets, or the assets belonging to the applicant’s directors or shareholders.”
On 28 October 2025, General Hydrocarbons was directed by an arbitral tribunal to pay First Bank of Nigeria $112,100 and N111.25 million in legal and arbitration costs.
Justice Akaah Kumai, who gave the order, said failure by General Hydrocarbons to comply will attract a 10 per cent annual interest rate until full settlement.
The tribunal dismissed the allegation that First Bank sabotaged alternative financing arrangements on the ground that the claim lacked merit.
It also ruled that General Hydrocarbons was not entitled to any damages, expenses, or compensation for third-party contractors, unpaid salaries, or failed contracts.
Seyi Akinwunmi, the receiver/manager appointed by AMCON, disclosed in a newspaper advertisement dated 6 November 2025 announcing his appointment as receiver/manager over General Hydrocarbons, stating that the oil firm is now under receivership.
On the same day, AMCON formally requested that thirty-four financial institutions in Nigeria block access to the assets (including funds) held by them on behalf of the company.
“At the time AMCON appointed me receiver manager, there was no order against me. I was appointed under the law, and I am operating according to law,” Mr Akinwunmi told PREMIUM TIMES.
A lawyer of General Hydrocarbons informed PREMIUM TIMES at the time that AMCON had obtained the order to enforce the receivership from a court of equal jurisdiction presided over by Justice Adetayo Aluko.
The receiver/manager’s ploy to draft in a new lawyer – Oluseye Opasanya – into the legal battle to replace Abiodun Laniyonu, who had represented General Hydrocarbons right from the start of the tussle, hit a brick wall.
READ ALSO: Supreme Court upholds final forfeiture of N1.58 billion linked to former NIRSAL consultant
Justice Lewis-Allagoa said the step ran contrary to a current court order and quashed the move on that basis.
In December 2025, the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court struck out the order empowering AMCON to enforce receivership over General Hydrocarbons.
Justice Akintayo Aluko, who announced the decision, said a suit initiated by the receiver/manager appointed by AMCON is an abuse of court process in light of a subsisting order issued by the same court.
Mr Akinwunmi, the judge added, launched legal proceedings in disregard for the injunction granted by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa in September, restraining AMCON, its agents, privies, nominees, etc, from appointing a receiver over General Hydrocarbons and its assets.
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