The Technical Sub-Committee on Domestic Sales of Crude Oil in Local Currency confirmed on Sunday that the supply of crude in naira by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery will begin on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.

On September 13, 2024, the committee announced that the Federal Executive Council, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, approved the sale of crude to local refineries in naira and the corresponding purchase of petroleum products in naira.

“From October 1, NNPC will commence the supply of about 385kbpd (385,000 barrels per day) of crude oil to the Dangote refinery to be paid for in naira,” the committee declared.

The Chairman of the Technical Sub-Committee is Zacch Adedeji, who also serves as Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

When contacted on Sunday and asked if the plan for the crude oil supply to the $20bn Lekki-based plant is still intact, the Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman, Mr. Dare Adekanmbi, confirmed it is.

He stated, “I can confirm to you that the Chairman, Sub-Technical Committee, Zacch Adedeji, is working day and night to ensure that things go according to plans. He knows how important it is to have the agreement implemented as has been planned for the benefit of Nigerians.”

This indicates that NNPC will supply approximately 11.5 million barrels of crude oil to the Dangote refinery monthly, and under the deal, the plant will release equivalent volumes of refined diesel and petrol to the domestic market, also in naira.

The panel explained in September that this initiative would help reduce pressure on the naira, eliminate unnecessary transaction costs, and improve the availability of petroleum products across the country.

“Since then, the implementation committee chaired by the Minister of Finance and we, the technical committee, have worked intensely with NNPC and Dangote refinery to fashion out the details of the modalities for the implementation of the FEC approval,” Adedeji stated.

While stating that crude would be sold to Dangote in naira from October 1, the committee chairman and FIRS boss said, “In return, the Dangote refinery will supply PMS (petrol) and diesel of equivalent value to the domestic market to be paid in naira.

“Diesel will be sold in naira by the Dangote refinery to any interested off-taker. PMS will only be sold to NNPC. NNPC will then sell to various marketers for now. All associated regulatory costs (NPA, NIMASA, etc.) will also be paid in naira. We are also setting up a one-stop shop that will coordinate service provision from all regulatory agencies, security agencies, and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth implementation of this initiative.”

Adedeji explained that the technical committee that developed the initiative will transition to an implementation execution and monitoring committee working out of Lagos for the next three to six months.

The committee, which includes the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Lydia Jafiya; the FIRS boss, as well as representatives from NNPC, Central Bank of Nigeria, AfreximBank, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, was established to craft a robust template ensuring the successful implementation of the initiative.

Meanwhile, modular refineries have called on the government to create modalities for the supply of crude to their plants as well.

About 24 hours before the commencement deal, the modular refiners informed one of our correspondents that they were not involved in the negotiations.

The Publicity Secretary of the Crude Oil Refinery-owners Association of Nigeria, Eche Idoko, said, “The committee is only discussing with Dangote at the moment.”

According to Idoko, the committee, during its inaugural meeting, stated that it would initiate the naira sale of crude with refineries producing petrol, noting that currently only the Dangote refinery is producing the commodity.

He mentioned that the association advocated for the committee to extend the sale to other refineries to avoid discrimination, “but they haven’t given us any feedback.”

Idoko stated, “Perhaps, during the October date, they will disclose more in terms of the modus they want to adopt. But at the moment, we have not received any clear communications as to how the naira sale will be administered other than the fact that they said they will start with PMS-producing refineries.”

The CORAN spokesman revealed that many modular refineries are facing significant crude challenges, hindering their fuel production.

He noted that some refineries with a capacity of 10,000 currently produce slightly above 3,000 barrels per day due to the unavailability of crude oil.

“A 6,000-capacity refinery now produces 1,000 barrels, but productions are inconsistent due to erratic crude supply,” he stated.

He added, “Our modular refineries are facing a serious crude crisis. Nothing has changed for modular refineries. There are talks with the government, but there hasn’t been any definite arrangement for supplies.”

Nigerians are hopeful that the naira crude sale scheduled to start on October 1 will lower the price of petrol.

Since it began selling petroleum on September 15, the Dangote refinery has not disclosed the price of the product.

The company denied selling at N898 per litre to the NNPC, asserting that the claim by the NNPC was misleading and mischievous, deliberately aimed at undermining the milestone achievement recorded.

The Dangote refinery urged Nigerians to await a formal announcement from the presidential committee.

“We urge Nigerians to disregard this malicious statement and await a formal announcement on the pricing by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales to local refineries, appointed by President Bola Tinubu, which will commence on October 1, 2024, bearing in mind that our current stock of crude was procured in dollars,” the Dangote Group stated.

However, the Federal Government has said it would not interfere in the price controversy between the NNPC and Dangote, asserting that the petroleum sector had been deregulated.

Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, has raised concerns about the pervasive corruption in Nigeria, labeling it a major challenge for the nation.

Ndume made these remarks during an interactive session with journalists in Kano on Saturday.

“Our major challenge in this country is corruption. To date, we have no law that can proactively or reactively address the issue of corruption. If you find someone within our system, especially in politics or government, who is not corrupt, it is because he is fortunate enough to be God-fearing.

“Otherwise, it is only in Nigeria that you can steal money, walk freely, and be celebrated. If you visit an area like this, people will start lobbying and prostrating before you, even when they know the money was stolen.

“In this country, someone who had no money yesterday or last week can suddenly buy ten cars and jets, and his family will celebrate him,” he stated.

The senator noted that in developed countries, people would inquire about how, when, and where an individual acquired their wealth, but the situation is different in Nigeria.

Ndume pointed out that multiple efforts to enact a law addressing unexplained wealth in Nigeria have faced obstacles. He mentioned that he had once asked a former president to sign an Executive Bill, but the request was declined.

“To this day, there is no Unexplained Wealth Act in Nigeria, and no Executive Order addressing it,” Ndume emphasized.

He also expressed his concerns regarding hunger in the country, advocating for increased cultivation of food crops to address the issue.

“There is hunger in the land, and to date, we have not cultivated even five percent of our land. Nigeria is blessed with vast arable land.”

According to him, Nigeria possesses fertile land throughout the country that could be utilized for growing food crops tonourish the population.

Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), has credited Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), for facilitating his appointment.

Lokpobiri made this revelation on Saturday at an event organized in honor of Wike by the Ijaw Peoples Congress (IPC) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.

“It is important to tell you my brothers and sisters that me that is standing before you today as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources was also made possible by Nyesom Wike,” Lokpobiri said.

He added, “You also heard the account of the MD of the NDDC who said that the Minister of the FCT played a direct role in his appointment.

“My own case could have been a more direct role. Some of you may not know. It all started in Wike’s house in Port Harcourt and it all got concluded in his house in Abuja.”

Lokpobiri continued, “My second journey of becoming a Minister started at the house of the Minister in Port Harcourt and it was concluded in his house in Abuja. It is important for me to complete this history.

“Because when I was looking at the welcome address, our names were not included among those who have benefitted from his benevolence. I thought that my name, Heineken Lokpobiri, would have been included amongst those that he has helped.

“But since my name is not included, I have to complete it. I want you Ijaw people to know that we have a brother, we have a friend.

“It is always better to have a good friend than to have a bad brother. Of what use is a bad brother? It is of no use. But if you have a good friend in the case of the FCT Minister, you are already blessed.”

Lokpobiri expressed gratitude to Wike, saying, “Your Excellency, the FCT Minister, let me on behalf of the Ijaw people all over the world, express our gratitude to you for your show of love to Ijaw people.

“We Ijaw people are very grateful people. If you do us good, we will not pay you back with evil. So, we will always be grateful to you for what you have done for our Ijaw people. We are looking forward to you to do more for our Ijaw people.”

Prior to his current appointment, Lokpobiri served as Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development from 2015 to 2019 under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He was appointed Minister of State for Petroleum Resources by President Bola Tinubu in August 2023, concurrently with Wike’s appointment as FCT Minister.