The Federal Government has officially granted petroleum marketers the authority to lift petrol directly from the Dangote refinery, circumventing the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
In a statement on Friday, the Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Naira-crude sale implementation committee, Wale Edun, gave an update on the takeoff of crude purchase and product sales in naira transactions.
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The announcement comes in the wake of increasing speculation regarding NNPC’s changing role in the procurement of petroleum products.
During a review meeting held on October 10, the Implementation Committee, chaired by Edun, assessed the progress of the initiative aimed at facilitating crude oil and refined product sales in naira.
As a result of this new policy, petroleum marketers are expected to engage directly with the Dangote refinery for their fuel needs, a move that could lead to more competitive pricing and improved supply chain dynamics.
He said, “The committee is pleased to report a successful transition of operations in line with the directive issued by the Federal Executive Council. This directive has established a robust framework for local production and distribution of crude oil and refined products for local consumption in naira.
“With this mechanism now in full operation, along with the commencement of local production, we are well-positioned to transition to a fully deregulated market for all petroleum products.
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“Moving forward, petroleum product marketers are now able to purchase PMS directly from local refineries without the intermediary role of NNPC. Marketers are encouraged to initiate direct purchases from refineries on mutually negotiated commercial terms, which will promote competition and improve market efficiency.”
Edun noted that the government remained confident that, in the long term, these measures will create better market conditions for the benefit of all Nigerians.
Meanwhile, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has demanded the return of petrol prices to what they were as of June 2023.
“We want the price of the product to go below what it was before; not just reverse to what it was before but to go below,” said TUC President, Festus Osifo, at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday.
He asked the government to specially intervene in the sector by giving foreign exchange to Dangote Refinery at $1/N1,000 and not at the current $over 1/N1,600 exchange rate to crash petrol prices
“The solution we are proposing if implemented will take us to the price we had as of June last year,” Osifo stated, stressing that “there is no government in the world that doesn’t intervene in its critical sector” and that the Federal Government “shouldn’t leave it (the oil sector) to the vagaries and gyration of our naira”.
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Since May 2023, the NNPCL has increased the pump prices of petrol from ₦184 in Lagos to ₦998. The price per litre of petrol was around ₦450 in Lagos as of June 2023.
On Thursday, the TUC leader harped on the availability, affordability and accessibility of petrol for all Nigerians, saying that the commodity is essential for all Nigerian households, even those without a second-hand value car.
The trade union placed its demands along the lines of affordability, availability and accessibility, saying, “We want the Federal Government to, through Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), give all marketers licenses to lift petrol from the Dangote Refinery.”
Osifo said the NNPCL should source refined petrol from other places if the Dangote Refinery cannot meet the current daily demands of Nigerians.
“If it is not available, it is a problem. If, for example, the production from Dangote Refinery is less than 15 million litres per day, it is not sufficient.
“So, while efforts are being made to ramp up production from Dangote Refinery, what we are demanding is that we should look for every other means as we are ramping up production, we should source for that difference and bring it in for a while until Dangote can get to that level where the production is sufficient to get to all nooks and crannies of Nigeria. For us, that is key because it will address the issue of availability,” the TUC boss stated.
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