From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has backed President Bola Tinubu’s crude oil-for-naira initiative, expressing deep frustration over Nigeria’s continuous reliance on imported petrol rather than bolstering local refining capacity to cut back on humongous funds spent on importation.
According to the Forum, it is highly disturbing for an Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member to rely heavily on products shipped into the country, describing it as an “aberration.”The governors’ position was inspired by Aliko Dangote’s recent announcement that his refinery could supply over 500 million liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol but that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other retailers were allegedly boycotting the available products.
Dangote claimed that the refusal to off take his petrol was responsible for the petrol queues snaking around many filling stations across the country and huge financial losses for his company.After a meeting in Abuja, which ended early yesterday, Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, read the NGF’s position as contained in a communique, which highlighted the urgency of local refining.”It is shameful that an OPEC member producing crude oil still relies on importation,” Uzodinma stated.
He highlighted the potential of the “crude for naira” policy to create jobs and lower production costs, adding, “we must encourage homegrown solutions”.
Uzodinma also shared updates from NNPC Ltd’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, on NNPC’s recent activities.These included the national crude and condensate production profile, the production war room initiative and anti-vandalism measures. The governors stressed the importance of the production war room in streamlining production and addressing challengesin the upstream sector, noting that these steps would enhance the security and resilience of NNPC’s supply chain.In a previous briefing, Dangote addressed the difficulties caused by NNPCL and other retailers failing to purchase PMS from his refinery. He noted that his refinery could supply Nigeria’s fuel needs, with 500 million liters already in storage, enough for 12 days. “If they come and collect, there would be no queues at filling stations,” Dangote stated, emphasising that the storage of unsold PMS incurs high costs for his business.He said that emphasis was placed on the role of the production war room in accelerating production and addressing bottlenecks in Nigeria’s upstream sector.
He said governors acknowledged the importance of these measures in securing the nation’s energy resources and improving the efficiency and resilience of NNPC’s production and supply chain.On the persistent fuel queues L despite high petrol prices, Uzodinma emphasised the governors’ support for the “crude for naira” initiative as it holds a potent solution to address the challenge.“I don’t think that you or me would be happy as a Nigerian, an OPEC member, producing crude oil, relying on importation for our people to use our petroleum products.“So we must encourage the homegrown solution that the President just introduced. We should encourage Dangote Refinery, we should repair our Port Harcourt Refinery, repair our Warri Refinery, repair our Kaduna Refinery and then produce what we eat, and eat what we produce.
“We shouldn’t rely on importation of crude oil. For me, it is an aberration ab initio to rely on importation of petroleum products as an oil-producing country.“Which other OPEC member country of our status is not refining crude oil in that country? So we shouldn’t encourage that. I think I want to support buying petroleum products in naira, buying crude oil in naira, refining it here.Dangote had told newsmen after a meeting on Tuesday with President Tinubu and his committee on crude oil and refined product sales in local currency, that his refinery had crude to last 12 days.“I am expecting the NNPC or the marketers to stop importing, they should come and pick because we have what they need.
“I don’t know whether you understand what it takes to keep half a billion litres inside our tank. It’s costing me money every day. If I will be able to collect the naira, I can actually charge somebody 32 percent in interest.“So right now, that’s what I’m losing. And we are talking about 500 million and we don’t print money.“The issue is that if they come and collect, then you will not see any queues in the filling stations,” he said.