FG Makes U-Turn, Says Naira-For-Crude Still In Effect
The Federal Government on Tuesday said its naira-for-crude initiative with local refineries is still in effect and will continue immediately, overruling the decision of the NNPCL under its former boss, Mele Kyari.
The government said the initiative is not a temporary measure but a “key policy directive designed to support sustainable local refining”.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, at a meeting with representatives of the Dangote Refinery.
The Minister noted that the naira-for-crude is still in effect.
It would be recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in July 2024 directed the NNPCL to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira and not in United States’ greenback
This was part of moves to reduce the strain on the US dollar and guarantee the price stability of petroleum products.
However, in March 2025, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) said its Naira-denominated crude sales agreement with the Dangote Refinery was structured for six months, with March 2025 as the expiration date.
Subsequently, the Dangote Refinery temporarily halted the sale of petroleum products in Naira. “This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars,” the company had said.
The $20bn refinery based in Lagos said the sales of its products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude it has received from NNPCL.
Immediately, the pump price of petrol jumped from around ₦860 to about ₦1,000, making consumers pay at least ₦70 more than what it used to cost them to buy a litre of the premium commodity days earlier.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
