President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commended the Implementation Committee of the Naira-based sale of crude oil and refined products, saying the policy is aimed at taking the country out of the last 40 years.
The President who asked the members of the committee to resolve any teething problems they are facing, said “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.”
In a review meeting at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, the President said using the Naira for crude was also conceived to remove the exchange rate hurdle.
He said, “There can be cost and revenue adjustment in the oil sector, but the issue is that the government will not have to go back to the old way of doing things”.
President Tinubu asked various players in the oil sector, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd (NNPCL) and Dangote Refinery, to work to improve the economy and livelihood of Nigerians.
The President urged stakeholders to look inward and consider supplying enough petrol and petroleum products for local consumption to stop the persistent reliance on importation, saying this would enable channelling of foreign exchange into the development of the real sector.
The President advised stakeholders to use Afreximbank as a settlement bank to resolve the Naira pricing for crude and refined products.
Afreximbank is already on board as the financial adviser.
“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. I want the issues resolved without future waste of time,’’ he added.
“We can have energy security, and the motivation for Alhaji Aliko Dangote will not be defeated. It will be more predictable on a medium and long-term basis,’’ the President said.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said the administration’s groundbreaking steps to sell crude in Naira would not be reversed, and the government would not be involved in determining the rate of exchange for the oil sector.
At the meeting, the Federal Inland Revenue Service Chairman, Zach Adedeji, who chairs the technical committee, said importing refined products should end once we have the capacity to produce enough to meet domestic needs.
“The vision of Mr President is to turn Nigeria into a hub for refined products to export to the world.”
