Delay in deregulating Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, has increased its borrowing and debt. Mr. Tunji Oyebanji the chief executive officer (CEO) of 11 Plc made this point while discussing “Deregulation of Nigeria’s Petroleum Sector: Connecting the Dots”.

According to him while policymakers are wary of the negative impact of deregulation on Nigerians, the country is on the edge of an economic crisis. He said Nigeria must make a choice and the way forward for the government, is to explore how to minimize the effects of fuel subsidy removal on the citizens.

“If we avoid taking a decisive step in implementing the full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector, the country will head into a deeper economic hole.”

On the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the need for full implementation of its provisions, he noted that it took 20 years for the PIA to be signed into law. He believed it would take an equally long process to transform the petroleum industry. 

In the area of commercialization of state oil companies like the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC), he agreed that transparency and corporate governance are among the critical components.

Speaking on infrastructure and logistics, he said the PIA should encourage ‘Open Access’ across the country. He stressed the fact that it would require more investments in pipelines that would help in moving products.

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