Senior Advocate of Nigeria and human-rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has called on the Federal Government to reduce the price of petrol and direct the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to refine the 450,000 barrels per day originally earmarked from Nigeria’s equity crude for domestic consumption.
Falana made the call in a statement issued on October 4 on behalf of the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond, ASCAB, titled “FG Should Reduce Price of Petrol.”
He argued that the recent disruption in global oil markets arising from geopolitical conflict has placed Nigerian consumers under renewed pressure, particularly as international crude prices rise.
According to Falana, the effect of higher crude prices on Nigerians is especially troubling because the country remains heavily dependent on imported refined petroleum products despite being a major oil producer.
His position is that Nigeria should use its own crude allocation to strengthen domestic refining rather than allow citizens to remain fully exposed to international price volatility.
Why the 450,000-barrel figure matters
The 450,000 barrels per day referred to by Falana is significant because it has long been associated with the quantity of crude intended to supply Nigeria’s domestic refineries.
Falana argues that where those barrels are refined locally, the cost structure for domestic fuel supply should become more predictable and potentially less vulnerable to foreign-exchange pressures, shipping costs and international refining margins.
His intervention therefore shifts the petrol-price debate away from subsidy alone and toward the structure of Nigeria’s crude allocation and refining system.
A legal and policy question
The statement also raises an important public-law question: whether the Federal Government and NNPCL are deploying national petroleum resources in a manner that sufficiently protects domestic consumers.
Falana’s position is advocacy, not a judicial finding, but it adds a significant legal voice to the growing debate over fuel affordability, refining policy and the economic consequences of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum framework.
The issue is particularly timely because petrol prices have become a central political and economic question ahead of 2027.
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