Fuel price drop imminent as Nigerian govt renews naira-for-crude deal

 

The price of premium motor spirit, popularly known as fuel, may drop in the coming days as the Nigerian government on Wednesday vowed to continue the implementation of the naira-for-crude sale deal with Dangote Refinery and other local refineries.

DAILY POST reports on Wednesday that the federal government, through its Technical Sub-Committee on the Crude and Refined Product Sales in Naira initiative, made it clear in an update that the initiative continues indefinitely to sustain local refining, bolster energy security, and reduce reliance on foreign exchange in the domestic petroleum market.

“The initiative remains in effect and will continue for as long as it aligns with the public interest and supports national economic objectives,” the Naira-for-crude Implementation Committee, chaired by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, said in a statement released on Wednesday by the Federal Ministry of Finance X account.

The decision douses the existing anxiety in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector regarding petroleum products pricing.

Reacting to the development on Wednesday, the National President of Petroleum Retailers Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, and the Spokesperson for Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, lauded the continuation of the naira-for-crude sales deal.

On his part, Gillis-Harry said the deal is a significant component of how Nigeria’s economic growth will fare.