The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to sell crude oil to Dangote refinery and other local refineries in Naira as against the current practice in which they are paying in foreign currencies.
The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji, gave this hint during a media chat after a FEC meeting, chaired by President Bola Tinubu in Abuja on Monday.
The tax administrator said the development would reduce the strain on the country’s foreign spending and stabilise the pump price of petrol, diesel and other products nationwide.
According to him, the Council ordered the state-controlled oil company to immediately begin the implementation of the directive to enhance local production of refined petroleum products in the country.
It would be recalled that over the past few weeks, the Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) had alleged that the authorities and International Oil Companies (IOCs) were frustrating crude supply to Dangote Refinery.
Following the controversies generated by the allegation and counter allegations, the Federal Government and the National Assembly and Industrialists had called for immediate resolution of the face-off between the management of the company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and the regulatory authorities, particularly the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)
