President Bola Tinubu, Monday, directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other upcoming refineries in the local currency, Naira.
Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, broke the news in a post on his official X handle, this Monday.
The move, according to Onanuga, which was primarily to ensure the stability of the pump price of refined fuel and the dollar-Naira exchange rate, was adopted by the Federal Executive Council at its sitting in the State House, Abuja.
To produce at full capacity, the Dangote Refinery, at the moment, requires 15 cargoes of crude, at a cost of $13.5 billion yearly, out of which the NNPC has committed to supply four.
But at its meeting on Monday, FEC approved that the 450,000 barrels meant for domestic consumption be offered in Naira to Nigerian refineries, using the Dangote Refinery as a pilot.
“The exchange rate will be fixed for the duration of this transaction,” Onanuga added in the statement. “Afreximbank and other settlement banks in Nigeria will facilitate the trade between Dangote and NNPC Limited. The game-changing intervention will eliminate the need for international letters of credit, further saving the country of dollar payments.”
