The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, says petrol remains cheaper in Nigeria than in the United States and several African countries despite the removal of subsidy.

Lokpobiri made the claim on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday while defending the Federal Government’s deregulation of the downstream oil sector.

He said petrol currently averages about N1,430 per litre in Nigeria, compared with N1,633 in the US, N1,959 in Cameroon and N2,070 in both Ghana and South Africa.

His comments came amid recent reductions in depot prices following a decline in international crude oil prices. Dangote Refinery, for instance, cut its petrol depot price from N1,350 to N1,325 per litre, although pump prices in some locations remained between N1,370 and N1,450.

The minister maintained that Nigeria’s status as an oil-producing country and the presence of the Dangote Refinery did not automatically guarantee cheaper petrol, noting that global crude prices influence domestic fuel costs.

Lokpobiri also defended deregulation, arguing that the policy had opened the sector to private investment and enabled large-scale projects such as the Dangote Refinery.

He said the government would not reverse the policy, adding that savings from the removal of subsidy were being shared among the three tiers of government through the Federation Account Allocation Committee.

According to him, deregulation is designed to create a more competitive oil and gas market and attract private-sector investment across the midstream and downstream sectors.