President Bola Tinubu commended the Implementation Committee on Tuesday for its progress on transitioning to Naira-based crude oil sales and urged stakeholders to cooperate in addressing initial challenges. “We will not go back to the old way of doing things,” Tinubu emphasized during a review meeting at the State House in Abuja.
Highlighting the initiative’s purpose, Tinubu explained, “Whatever solution we proffer in crude oil and refined products sales in Naira should not take us back to our experience in the last 40 years.” He urged all participants, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Dangote Refinery, to focus on ensuring energy security for Nigeria by prioritizing local supply. “The market must determine what we are doing. Once you allow the market to determine the profit and loss, independent marketers and the government side can meet on the worksheet,” he added.
Wale Edun, Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, reassured Tinubu that the government remains committed to the policy. “The administration’s groundbreaking steps to sell crude in Naira will not be reversed,” he stated, clarifying that the government would not intervene in determining the exchange rate for oil transactions.
Aliko Dangote, CEO of Dangote Group, reported that the refinery has over 500 million liters of fuel in reserve and recently supplied 400 million liters to the economy. “We are prepared to collaborate with NNPC refineries to meet the local demand of 32 million liters per day,” he said.
Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zach Adedeji, reiterated the President’s vision to position Nigeria as an export hub for refined petroleum. “The vision of Mr. President is to turn Nigeria into a hub for refined products to export to the world,” he explained.
Also present at the meeting were Afrexim Bank Chairman Prof. Benedict Oramah, Budget and Economic Planning Minister Abubakar Bagudu, and NNPC CEO Mele Kyari, among other industry leaders.
