Finance Minister Edun meets oil & gas stakeholders over Naira crude sales

The Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, has met with key stakeholders in the oil and gas industry, following President Bola Tinubu’s directive for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), to sell crude oil to local refineries in naira.

Those in attendance included the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Dr Zacch Adedeji, and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Lydia Jafiya.

Disclosing this in a post on its official X page, the Finance Ministry said the meeting was held in Abuja.

It stated that the initiative is intended to strengthen the domestic economy and support the sustainable operations of local refineries, including the Dangote Refinery.

“On Monday, the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, led a key meeting aimed at implementing President Tinubu’s directive for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited to sell crude oil to local refineries in Naira,” the post read.

“This initiative is intended to strengthen the domestic economy and support the sustainable operations of local refineries, including the Dangote Refinery.

“The meeting brought together important stakeholders, including Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Lydia Jafiya, and other notable participants.”

During the in-depth discussions, the Finance Minister expressed strong confidence in the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders to achieve the directive’s objectives.

This comes about two weeks after Tinubu directed the NNPCL to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other upcoming refineries in naira.

The president’s directive followed an approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), that the 450,000 barrels meant for domestic consumption be offered in naira to Nigerian refineries, using the Dangote refinery as a pilot.

The move is to ensure the stability of the pump price of refined fuel and the dollar-naira exchange rate.