By Abiola Olawale
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has issued an order to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to begin the sale of crude to Dangote Refinery, owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote and other upcoming refineries.
The President also directed that the business between the NNPCL and Dangote refinery be made in the country’s currency, Naira.
This declaration was made during a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting which held on Monday.
The details of the meeting were also explained in a press statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga.
Onanuga, in the statement, explained that the President’s directive is to ensure the stability of the pump price of refined fuel and the dollar-Naira exchange rate.
Tinubu also ordered that the sale of refined products from Dangote Refinery to oil marketers and distributors be denominated in naira and not in any foreign currency.
The statement reads in part: “The exchange rate will be fixed for the duration of this transaction.
“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.”
The New Diplomat reports that this is coming amid the face-off between Dangote and top officials of the NNPCL.
It would be recalled that the Group Chief Commercial Officer at Dangote Industries Limited, Rabiu Umar had accused the NNPCL of ignoring the Dangote Refinery while exporting crude oil to Indonesia.
Umar had said certain individuals in the oil and gas industry of Nigeria who are enjoying dividends from the exportation of crude oil and importation of finished products have been trying to sideline the 650,000 barrels Refinery located in Lagos state.
However, the Chief executive of the NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, denied the allegations, saying that the 650,000 barrels Refinery located in Lagos state, which was opened in December 2023, is still in the pre-commissioning stage.
Ahmed stated that the Dangote Refinery stands at 45% completion. He also claimed that the diesel from Dangote’s plant contained high levels of sulphur, harmful to engines and the environment.
In response, Dangote invited members of the House of Representatives on a tour of the refinery to witness lab tests and make a comparison between the sulphur content of its diesel with imported samples.
According to Dangote, the tests revealed that Dangote’s diesel had a sulphur content of 87.6 ppm, significantly lower than the imported samples, which had levels exceeding 1800 ppm and 2000 ppm.
Dangote explained that the result does not only show the reality of products from his refinery, but it also shows that substandard petroleum products are being imported into the country and sold to unsuspecting Nigerians.
