A meeting involving President Bola Tinubu and the Implementation Committee on Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Local Currency is currently being held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting which is chaired by the Finance Minister, Wale Edun, includes the Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, and the Group CEO of NNPC, Mele Kyari.
According to reports from The Punch, the committee members arrived at the Council Chamber shortly after 2:00 pm.
This briefing follows the Federal Government’s policy shift to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery in naira rather than U.S. dollars, a move approved by the Federal Executive Council.
The move was aimed at stabilizing domestic fuel prices and strengthen Nigeria’s currency by reducing reliance on dollars in oil transactions.
The policy mandated that NNPC is to supply crude oil in naira, beginning with the Dangote Refinery as the pilot facility. The aim is that local transactions will enhance the availability of petroleum products and decrease costs associated with importation.
The Dangote Refinery would in turn sell its Refined petrol and diesel in naira which will simplify currency exchange. This will also reduce Forex demands by up to 40 percent, with support from institutions such as the Central Bank of Nigeria and AfreximBank.
However, challenges have arisen. In September, a pricing dispute emerged between NNPC and Dangote Refinery, with NNPC alleging it paid N898 per litre for petrol from Dangote—a figure Dangote representatives called “misleading,” citing unresolved pricing terms.
It is hoped that today’s meeting will see a mediation as well as review of the pricing under the new local currency trading system.
