President Bola Tinubu believes the naira for crude transactions will stabilise the oil sector.
Tinubu said this on Tuesday in a review meeting with the Implementation Committee on the Naira-based sales of crude oil and refined products.
“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,” presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga quoted his principal as saying in a Tuesday statement.
“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.”
According to him, using the naira was aimed at removing the exchange rate hurdle.
He lauded the committee for their efforts and asked the members to resolve any teething problems.
President Tinubu called on stakeholders in the oil sector to work for the betterment of the Nigerian economy and the living standards of Nigerians.
He called on them to look inward and consider supplying enough petrol and petroleum products for local consumption to stop the persistent reliance on importation.
Tinubu 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, Onanuga’s statement read.
“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,” the Nigerian president 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,” Tinubu said.
Patronise Us – Dangote
According to him, the refinery had over 500 million litres of fuel in reserve after supplying 400 million to the economy.
“What I estimated as our daily consumption is about 30-32 million litres, that one we can even start producing by next week. That is not really an issue because as we speak today, we have 500 million litres in our tanks. With that even if there is no production anywhere or no import, that will take the country more than 12 days,” Dangote said.
“We are very ready, we are more than ready and I am also putting my name on the line that we will be able to supply the market 30 million per day and we are ramping up, so we are ready.
“So I am expecting that the NNPCL and the marketers should stop importing, they should come and collect what they need. I don’t know if you understand what it means to keep half of billion litres in our tanks, it is costing me money. Every day if I am to collect money I can charge 32 per cent in interest. That is what I am losing. If they come and collect, then you will not see any queue in the filling stations.”
Channels Television