A renowned economist, Kelvin Emmanuel, has said the Nigerian government has not effectively implemented a Naira-for-crude deal with Dangote Refinery.
Emmanuel disclosed this in an interview with Channels Television on Monday and monitored by Media Talk Africa.
He was analysing the policy of the Nigerian government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and its impact on fuel prices.
Recall that in July 2024 Tinubu had directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to sell crude to Dangote Refinery in Naira.
On October 20, 2024, the Minister of Finance announced the kickoff of the Naira-for-crude deal.
However, Emmanuel claimed that the policy has not been fully implemented, noting that Dangote Refinery still buys crude feedstock in dollars instead of naira.
“The level of compliance with the Naira-for-crude deal is low.
“It doesn’t appear that the government is complying with the terms agreed with the policy. It has not been complying with by the latter.
“Under deal, Dangote Refinery is 385,000 and 400,000 barrels of crude per day. The refinery is not getting that. Let me define 11.5 million or 12 million barrels of crude on a monthly basis. The refinery is getting 40 or 50 percent of the crude. 40 percent of the 50 percent crude being sold to Dangote Refinery is being sold in dollars,” he said.
This comes as Dangote Refinery said its ex-depot prices of petrol are sold for N960 and N990 per litre for shipping and trucks.
The announcement of the Dangote Petrol price came on the back of the controversy between the company and oil marketers in the last days.
Oil marketers had disclosed that imported fuel is cheaper than Dangote Petrol.
However, Dangote accused oil marketers of importing cheap and substandard fuel into Nigeria, which was denied.
This comes as Nigerians buy petrol between N1,060 and N1,200 per litre across filling outlets.
Media Talk Africa recalls that fuel price increased to above N1060 per litre in November 2024 from N617 sold in August, the same year.
