Following the face-off between the NNPCL and the Dangote refinery over the stoppage of Crude for Naira sale, the Federal Government has renew its commitment to continue selling the crude and refined product in Naira as a national policy. This assurance was posted on the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of the Federal Ministry of Finance this morning amid growing inquiries on the status of the policy.
According to the Ministry, the initiative was intended and approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), as a long-term strategic directive and not a short-term or provisional measure.
Therefore, stakeholders have reconvened to reiterate their full support and ongoing commitment of ensuring a successful implementation of the policy initiative for Nigerians to continue enjoying a stable energy price.
The statement partly reads that the policy, which mandates the transaction of crude oil and refined petroleum products in Naira, was targeted at strengthening the country’s economic sovereignty, enhancing local refining capacity, and stabilizing the foreign exchange market by reducing the demand for dollars in domestic petroleum transactions.
The Ministry explained that the policy is planned to foster an energy security and encourage investment in domestic refining infrastructure in line with ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of president Tinubu in the county.
The post partly reads; “The Crude and Refined Product Sales in Naira initiative is not a temporary or time-bound intervention, but a key policy directive designed to support sustainable local refining, bolster energy security, and reduce reliance on foreign exchange in the domestic petroleum market”.
“As with any major policy shift, the Committee acknowledges that implementation challenges may arise from time to time. However, such issues are being actively addressed through coordinated efforts among all parties.”
The post added that officials of the Ministry of Finance and Technical Sub-Committee on the Crude and Refined Product Sales in Naira initiative had yesterday to review progress and address ongoing implementation matters.
The meeting brough together personalities like, Wale Edun, the Chairman of the Implementation Committee; the Chairman of the Technical Sub-Committee and Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji; the Chief Financial Officer of NNPCL, Dapo Segun; the Coordinator of NNPC Refineries; Management of NNPC Trading; representatives of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals.
Others include senior officials from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), representative of Afreximbank, as well as the Secretary of the Committee, Hauwa Ibrahim.
