Nigeria on Track to Become Refined Products Hub, Says President Tinubu
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured Nigerians of greater stability in the oil sector, thanks to the federal government’s decision to use the Naira for crude oil transactions.
In a review meeting at the State House in Abuja, President Tinubu commended the Implementation Committee on the Naira-based sales of crude oil and refined products, urging them to resolve any teething problems that may arise.
“The 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,” President Tinubu stated.
He emphasized that the government will not revert to the old way of doing things, and instead, will focus on cost and revenue adjustments in the oil sector.
President Tinubu called on stakeholders, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd and the Dangote Refinery, to work together to improve the economy and the livelihood of Nigerians.
He encouraged them to supply enough petrol and petroleum products for local consumption, reducing the country’s reliance on importation. This, he said, would enable the channeling of foreign exchange into the development of the real sector.
The President advised stakeholders to utilize Afreximbank as a settlement bank to resolve Naira pricing for crude and refined products. “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.
Minister of Finance Wale Edun reassured that the administration’s groundbreaking steps to sell crude in Naira would not be reversed, and the government would not interfere with the exchange rate for the oil sector.
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The Dangote Refinery has already made significant progress, with over 500 million liters of fuel in reserve after supplying 400 million to the economy.
Other stakeholders, including the Federal Inland Revenue Service Chairman, Zach Adedeji, and the President of Afrexim Bank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, were in attendance.
The meeting aimed to ensure Nigeria becomes a hub for refined products, exporting to the world, as envisioned by President Tinubu.