Energy Costs High Despite Reform, Says Sanwo-Olu

Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said that despite ongoing energy reforms energy costs remain high for many households and businesses.
He said Nigeria’s downstream sector today looks very different from what it was three years ago following the removal of fuel subsidy which opened the market to private investment.

Speaking at the Opening of the OTL Africa Africa Downstream Energy Week
on Monday in Lagos, the Governor noted that the Dangote Refinery, here in Ibeju-Lekki, produced about 42 million liters of petrol a day in August, according to the regulator’s data, and petrol imports fell by 26 per cent that month, to about 14.6 million liters a day.
He said that for a country that depended on imports for most of its petrol only a few years ago, that is a real change
However, he remarked, “But a refinery’s output is not the final measure of success. The measure is whether product is available where and when Nigerians need it, and what they pay for it. Energy costs remain high for many households and businesses. We must keep working towards a market that is reliable, competitive and affordable.”

He pointed out that when energy becomes expensive or unreliable, the damage reaches far beyond the filling station, transport fares rise, factories spend more to produce, food costs more to reach the market and small businesses lose their margins first.
That is why energy security is economic security, and why this year’s theme, “Secure Energy, Shared Prosperity,” is the right test for this industry.
He argued that supply must be steady, and its benefits must reach the commuter, the trader and the factory owner, not only those who work in the sector.

Highlighting, his administration’s intervention in clean energy space, the Governor, said his administration treat energy as an economic matter, and haa acted on three fronts
The first is mobility, in which the Blue Line has carried more than six million passengers since it opened in 2023.
The Red Line is running between Agbado and Oyingbo while the second phase of the Blue Line, to Okokomaiko, is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, and the Green Line will link Lekki to Marina. Every journey moved from the road to the rail reduces the demand for fuel in our traffic, he said.

The second is cleaner fuel for transport.
According to Sanwo-Olu, since the start of this year, new buses entering the regulated public transport system must run on CNG or electricity. “We have converted 152 First and Last Mile buses to CNG, with fuel costs cut by nearly half, and we have introduced 2,000 CNG-powered trucks under our haulage reform program.” he said.

He said Lagos now regulates its own electricity market, through the Lagos State Electricity Law and the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Distribution in the state now operates under licenses issued by that Commission, with the clear aim of ensuring better service for consumers and room for private investment, he said, adding, ” For industry, reliable power matters as much as reliable fuel.

However he said the Government cannot do this alone, stressing that the investments that will decide the outcome, in storage, depots, pipelines, distribution and logistics, are largely in the hands of the people in this room.

“So I ask you to use this week to answer three questions. How do we expand storage and distribution capacity so that supply is steady in every region? How do we finance downstream and gas infrastructure at the scale needed to bring costs down? And how do we make sure the gains from local refining reach consumers as stable and affordable prices? Lagos is ready to work with you on each of them.”

He commended the entire OTL Africa team for sustaining the platform that has now endured for twenty years.
“As a State, we remain committed to responsible investment and to partnerships that advance our economic development.” Sanwo-Olu, concluded.