The sale of crude oil and refined petroleum products in local currency, Naira, has commenced, and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announced it on Friday.
Edun, who described the policy’s official launch on October 1, 2024, as a groundbreaking move, said this followed a recent directive by the Executive Council of the Federation (FEC).
The Minister announced at the end of the meeting of the Implementation Committee in Abuja to conduct a post-commencement review of the Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Naira initiative.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri; the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, led by the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mele Kyari, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of NNPC Ltd, Umar Ajiya, and Executive Vice President (Downstream), Lawal Sade; the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed; the representative of the Chairman of Dangote Group, the Vice President of Dangote Group, Sayyu Dantata, Aliyu Suleiman and Olakunle Alake of Dangote Refinery.
Others were the Chairman of FIRS and Chairman Technical Sub-Committee on the sale of crude in Naira, Zacch Adedeji and Amina Ado of FIRS; representatives from the Nigerian Maritime Safety and Administration (NIMASA), Moji Jimoh and Maijidda Ibrahim, and SA to the Minister of Finance, Hauwa Ibrahim and Commodore Oluseyi Oladipo of the Nigerian Navy.
Edun said the strategic initiative by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Administration was expected to have a lasting impact on Nigeria’s economy, and foster growth, stability, and self-sufficiency in petroleum products supply, especially as the country continues to navigate the complexities of global oil markets.
The initiative is a marked departure from the practice in the global oil market, where crude oil and petroleum product sales are usually conducted in foreign currency, the dollar.
The crude oil and petroleum products policy to sale in Naira to operators and marketers in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry was part of the government strategy to avoid the complications associated with the impact of foreign exchange on the retail price of petroleum products in the country.
With the rising exchange rate to the Naira, imported petroleum products arrive the country at largely exorbitant prices, resulting in high retail pump prices to consumers.
With the commencement of operations at the privately owned Dangote Refinery, and the crude oil and petroleum products Naira sale initiative, most consumers expect that the removal of the foreign exchange component in the petroleum products pricing template would drastically cut down on the final pump price at filling stations across the country.
