…to be sustained for as long as it aligns with public interest

The crude and refined product sales in naira remains intact, the Federal Government has affirmed, putting paid to seeming confusion that trailed the policy.

The government added that the policy would be sustained as long as it aligns with public interest and support national economic objectives. The Federal Ministry of Finance restated the government’s position on its X handle, saying that Federal Executive Council (FEC) endorsed the continuation of crude for naira policy.

According to the ministry, the stakeholders reaffirmed the government’s continued commitment to the full implementation of this strategic initiative, as directed by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) To this end, the ministry noted that “the Crude and Refined Product Sales in Naira initiative is not a temporary or time-bound intervention, but a key policy directive designed to support sustainable local refining, bolster energy security, and reduce reliance on foreign exchange in the domestic petroleum market.”

“As with any major policy shift, the Committee acknowledges that implementation challenges may arise from time to time. However, such issues are being actively addressed through coordinated efforts among all parties” the ministry added. It was further revealed that the technical subcommittee on the crude and refined product sales in naira initiative convened an update meeting on Tuesday to review progress and address ongoing implementation matters.

The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Implementation Committee, Hon. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun; the Chairman of the Technical SubCommittee and Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Zacch Adedeji; the Chief Financial Officer of NNPC Limited, Mr. Dapo Segun; the Coordinator of NNPC Refineries; Management of NNPC Trading; representatives of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals; and senior officials from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), representative of Afreximbank, as well as the Secretary of the Committee, Hauwa Ibrahim.

The “crude for naira” policy, introduced by the Nigerian government, aims to stabilise the fuel market and reduce the pressure on the naira by allowing local refineries, including Dangote’s, to purchase crude oil in naira instead of dollars. However, the policy implementation encountered challenges leading to momentary halt.

There had been concerns about the availability of crude for local refineries. There are also concerns about the potential impact of the policy on the price of petroleum products and the naira’s exchange rate.