Tinubu assures of stability in oil sector, says Nigeria won’t go back to old ways

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday assured Nigerians of stability in Nigeria oil sector with the implementation of the Naira for crude policy.

The Special Adviser to Mr Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement posted on his X handle said Mr Tinubu made the statement while speaking on Tuesday in Abuja.

Mr Tinubu commended the implementation committee on the Naira-based sales of crude oil and refined products and asked the members to resolve any teething problems.

In a review meeting at the State House, the President said that using the Naira was conceived to remove the exchange rate hurdle.

“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. 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,’’ Mr Tinubu was quoted as saying.

The president said the various players in the oil sector, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and the Dangote Refinery, should work to improve the economy and the livelihood of Nigerians.

NNPCL Towers, Abuja

According to the statement, Mr Tinubu urged stakeholders to look inward and consider supplying enough petroleum products for local consumption to stop the persistent reliance on importation, noting that this would enable the channelling of foreign exchange into the development of the real sector.

The statement said 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.

“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,’’ he added.

Also speaking, the 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.”

Others at the meeting, according to the statement, include Benedict Oramah, the President and Chairman of the Board of AfreximBank, Abubakar Bagudu, the minister of budget and national planning and Group Managing Director of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari.

The president’s special adviser on energy, Olu Verheijen, and the CEOs of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA), and Nigerian Ports Authority also attended, along with Engineer Gbenga Komolafe, head of Upstream Regulator, and Farouk Ahmed, head of Midstream & Downstream Regulator, (NMDPRA).

In July, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) directed NNPC Ltd to engage the Dangote refinery and other local refineries to resolve the dispute over the sale of crude oil to them.

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In October, the Nigerian government said it had officially commenced the sale of crude oil and refined petroleum products in Naira.

The sale in Naira took effect from 1 October, the government said at the time.