Nigeria, Aug. 30 -- The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has urged the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to tie petroleum-product import approvals to transparently verified domestic supply gaps.

The group said petroleum-product imports should serve as a contingency mechanism for genuine supply shortages rather than operate as a parallel market capable of displacing adequate domestic production.

The CPPE made the call in a policy brief released on Sunday by its Chief Executive Officer, Muda Yusuf, titled "Policy Brief on Rising Petroleum-Product Imports and the Future of Domestic Refining."

The group said that where local refineries can supply products of acceptable quality an...