Daniel Bwala, special adviser on policy communications to President Bola Tinubu, stated that state governors are currently benefiting from a period of financial prosperity under the present administration.

During his appearance on the Channels Television programme ‘Politics Today’ on Wednesday, Bwala mentioned that no governor is facing difficulties in paying salaries, unlike in the past.

All the governors in Nigeria are having the best of times, like they are experiencing what we call the oil boom in their history as a country, Bwala said.

Twenty-seven states were once bankrupt, and salaries were not paid. That is not a conversation now.

It is almost like an anathema to talk about people not being paid salaries because such a governor will be looked upon like Lucifer.

There is revenue enough to pay salaries, there is revenue enough to meet the minimum wage, embark on projects, pay debts, and look to the future.

His comments came after Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna state, remarked that it would be difficult for any Nigerian governor to oppose President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

Moreover, no president in Nigeria’s history has supported governors and sub-national governments the way President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is currently doing, the governor said on Tuesday.

As a result, it is unlikely that any governor in Nigeria would go against the president.

Bwala also rejected claims of a strong opposition coalition, arguing that the movement is overblown.

He said only a small number of members from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) left to lead the coalition, while the party’s governors and national leadership remained.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has stated that it has no intentions of selling the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), reaffirming its commitment to completing the high-quality rehabilitation and continued operation of the plant.

Bayo Ojulari, the group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the NNPC, made this announcement during a company-wide town hall meeting at the headquarters of the national oil company in Abuja.

Ojulari’s comments came amid growing concerns regarding the future of NNPC’s crude oil refining assets.

Previously, on June 11, Ojulari mentioned that the company was considering selling state-owned refineries due to the difficulties in repairing the facilities.

However, during the town hall meeting, the NNPC chief ruled out any plans to sell the asset.

“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Ltd has officially ruled out the sale of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, reaffirming its commitment to completing high-grade rehabilitation and retention of the plant,” the statement reads.

Ojulari clarified that the company’s stance was not a change, but the result of ongoing in-depth technical and financial reviews of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri refineries.

“The ongoing review indicates that the earlier decision to operate the Port Harcourt refinery before the full completion of its rehabilitation was ill-informed and sub-commercial,” the statement continued.

“Although progress is being made on all three refineries, the outlook now requires more advanced technical partnerships to finalize and upgrade the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery. Therefore, selling is unlikely, as it would lead to further loss of value.”

Ojulari emphasized that NNPC would continue to evolve into a commercially focused, professionally managed energy company that is transparent, performance-oriented, and steadfast in its commitment to its most important stakeholder group, Nigerians.

The PHRC was shut down for maintenance by NNPC on May 24.

The PHRC operates two refineries: an old facility with a 60,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd) capacity and a newer one with a 150,000 bpsd capacity, totaling a combined crude processing capacity of 210,000 bpsd.

Importers have slashed petrol prices lower than what the Dangote Petroleum Refinery offers, triggering a new wave of competition. This development follows a recent appeal by the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, urging the Federal Government to ban fuel importation.

According to The Punch, some fuel stations are now selling petrol below N860 per litre, whereas Dangote’s partners like MRS and Heyden are retailing between N865 and N875 in Lagos and Ogun States.

One filling station, SGR in Ogun, dropped its price to N847 per litre on Tuesday. Marketers confirmed to The PUNCH that most importers have adjusted their ex-depot petrol prices to undercut Dangote’s rates.

As of Tuesday, Dangote refinery’s petrol was selling at N820 per litre, while some depots priced theirs at N815. Data from Petroleumprice.ng showed that Aiteo, Menj, and others had petrol priced at N815/litre.

It was gathered that importers are strategically pricing their products to stay afloat. Many had earlier complained about incurring losses when the 650,000-barrels-per-day Dangote refinery began regular price reductions earlier this year.

Chinedu Ukadike, National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, confirmed the ongoing price reductions by importers.

“Depot owners are dropping their petrol prices. Some of them are selling N815, some are selling N817, while Dangote is selling N820. NNPC is still selling at N825; it has not dropped its prices yet,” Ukadike said.

He praised this trend as a positive sign of a liberalised market and advised President Bola Tinubu not to consider banning fuel imports.

“This is the beauty of the liberalisation of the market. That is why we opined that the President should not ban anybody from importing petroleum products. Nobody should be stopped from bringing in petroleum products. That is the beauty of opening up the market. Implementation and local refining will checkmate unfair pricing. As an indigenous country, you must refine to ensure that you have the best price,” Ukadike added.

Addressing concerns over substandard fuel being brought into the country, Ukadike noted that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority exists to monitor such issues.

Currently, it appears importers are challenging Dangote by aggressively cutting prices, a move Dangote recently called “unfair competition.” According to him, fuel imports into Nigeria are undermining domestic refining and deterring further investments in the energy sector and wider economy.

To sustain local operations, he urged African governments to take protective measures like the United States, Canada, and the European Union have done.

Dangote stated that the “Nigeria First” policy announced by President Bola Tinubu should be extended to the petroleum product industry. “The Nigeria First policy announced by His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, should apply to the petroleum product sector and all other sectors,” he said.

Dangote is calling for a ban on the importation of locally available products such as petrol and diesel. He argued that local refiners are struggling to compete due to what he termed “dumping,” and claimed importers are bringing in substandard fuels that wouldn’t be allowed in Europe.

“And to make matters worse, we are now facing increased dumping of cheap, often toxic petroleum products, some of which are blended to substandard levels that would never be allowed in Europe or North America,” he said.

He also said some importers are supplying subsidised petroleum products or crude oil from Russia, which negatively impacts domestic pricing and forces local refiners to sell below production cost.

“Due to the price caps on the Russian petroleum products, discounted petroleum products produced in Russia or with discounted Russian crude find their way to Africa, severely undercutting our local production, which is based on full crude pricing. This has created an unlevel playing field in most African countries. Petrol and diesel are sold for about a dollar net of taxes.

“In Nigeria, due to this unfair competition, this price is just about 60 cents, even cheaper than Saudi Arabia, which produces and refines its own oil. This is due to the fact that we are having too much dumping. To remain viable, we urge the governments across Africa to take deliberate steps as the United States, Canada, and the European Union have done to protect domestic producers from unfair competition,” he said during an event hosted by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority in Abuja.

However, marketers opposed Dangote’s request, urging the Federal Government not to place petroleum products on the import ban list under the “Nigeria First” policy.