Economist Ken Ife has raised serious concerns over Nigeria’s continued reliance on imports and the systemic failures within its oil and gas sector, describing the country as lacking economic independence.
During an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday, Ife said, “You know we got independence in 1960, and up till now we cannot claim that we have got economic independence. We have political independence.”
Speaking on the persistent challenges in implementing the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), Ife noted that regulatory bodies like the Nigerian Petroleum Development and Regulatory Authority (NPDRA) have fallen short of their mandates.
According to Ife, the agency has failed to provide critical data on fuel consumption, leaving the country vulnerable to market distortions. Evidence of regulatory shortcomings emerged when border closures led to a 30–35 percent drop in fuel availability and price surges in coastal countries up to Senegal.
He said, “We have continued to see import dependency drive this economy into near extinction. And we have PIA that took almost 20 years to bring in. And then implementation of the PIA becomes even a greater problem. We have an NPDRA that has to be more professionalised in the work that they do. Because what happens is that within the provisions of the PIA, section 71A and B and section 72, the provisions are there on public service obligation. They should have made their regulations, because don’t forget, PIA allows you to make regulations.
“So it is the agency that has to make that regulation, that has to go through all this process of making sure that there is enough regulation to deal with PSO obligation and to deal with DCO, the domestic trade obligation. They have done nothing. All we have there is that we have an organisation that is behaving like a trader’s union. So the traders have actually taken over NPDRA. And that is the symptom. What we are now seeing is their failure to deliver on their mandate. They have not told this country how much fuel is being consumed.
“We also know that when we shut down the borders, the thing dropped by about 30 to 35 percent. Countries along the coast, up to Senegal, prices have to go up.So all of these are just shortcomings of NPDRA. And nobody else should be blamed for this.”
He called for immediate professionalisation of NPDRA and full implementation of PIA regulations to restore accountability and strengthen Nigeria’s energy sector, framing the current import dependency as a symptom of deeper structural and governance issues.
Melissa Enoch
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