President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, speaking Tuesday in Abuja, commended the Implementation Committee on the Naira-based sales of crude oil and refined products and asked the members to resolve any teething problems.
In a review meeting at the State House, the President said that using the Naira was conceived to remove the exchange rate hurdle.
“Whatever solution we proffer in crude oil and refined products sales in Naira should not take us back to our experience in the last 40 years.
“There can be cost and revenue adjustment in the oil sector, but the issue is that the government will not have to go back to the old way of doing things,’’ the President stated.
President Tinubu said the various players in the oil sector, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd and the Dangote Refinery, should work to improve the economy and the livelihood of Nigerians.
The President urged stakeholders to look inward and consider supplying enough petrol and petroleum products for local consumption to stop the persistent reliance on importation. He said this would enable the channelling of foreign exchange into the development of the real sector.
The President advised stakeholders to use Afreximbank as a settlement bank to resolve the Naira pricing for crude and refined products. Afreximbank is already on board as the financial adviser.
“The market must determine what we are doing. Once you allow the market to determine the profit and loss, independent marketers and the government side can meet on the worksheet. I want the issues resolved without future waste of time,’’ he added.
“We can have energy security, and the motivation for Alhaji Aliko Dangote will not be defeated. It will be more predictable on a medium and long-term basis,’’ the President said.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said the administration’s groundbreaking steps to sell crude in Naira would not be reversed, and the government would not be involved in determining the rate of exchange for the oil sector.
The President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group told the President that the refinery had more than 500 million litres of fuel in reserve after supplying 400 million to the economy.
He said the refinery could collaborate with the other refineries managed by NNPC Ltd to meet an estimated 32 million litres of local petrol needs.
At the meeting, the Federal Inland Revenue Service Chairman, Zach Adedeji, who chairs the technical committee, said importing refined products should end once we have the capacity to produce enough to meet domestic needs.
“The vision of Mr President is to turn Nigeria into a hub for refined products to export to the world.”
Other stakeholders at the meeting included Prof. Benedict Oramah, the President and Chairman of the Board of Afrexim Bank, and Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the minister of budget and national planning and Group Managing Director of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari.
The president’s special adviser on energy, Olu Verheijen, and the CEOs of NIMASA and Nigerian Ports Authority also attended, along with Engineer Gbenga Komolafe, head of Upstream Regulator, and Farouk Ahmed, head of Midstream & Downstream Regulator, NMDPRA.
Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information and Strategy)
October 29, 2024
PRESS RELEASE
SANWO-OLU CONGRATULATES ONIKEPO AKANDE AT 80
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has congratulated Nigeria’s first female Minister of Industry and second female President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chief (Dr.) Onikepo Akande, on her 80th birthday.
The Governor, in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, described Akande, a renowned economist, accountant and industrialist, as a distinguished Nigerian who has served the country passionately and made significant contributions to the business world and society.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said Chief Onikepo Akande, the Iyalaje of Ibadanland, who turns 80 on Tuesday, deserves all the accolades for her immense and impactful contributions to the growth and development of Nigeria’s economy and governance.
He said: “On behalf of my family, the government and the people of Lagos State, I congratulate the first female Minister of Industry, Chief (Dr) Onikepo Akande, on her 80th birthday.
“Dr. Onikepo Akande is worth celebrating on her 80th birthday based on her positive impact in the country. She has served Nigeria passionately and made significant contributions to the business world and society. She is an icon in the business world and beyond.
“She contributed positively to governance and nation-building as a Minister of Industry and later as delegate at the 2014 National Conference.
“As Chief (Dr.) Onikepo Akande joins the league of octogenarians today, I pray that God will grant her good health to enable her to render more service to humanity, the business community, Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole.”
SIGNED
GBOYEGA AKOSILE
SPECIAL ADVISER – MEDIA AND PUBLICITY
29 OCTOBER 2024
ONDO GUBER: APC INAUGURATES SANWO-OLU-LED 305-NEMBER NATIONAL CAMPAIGN COUNCIL
- We’ll win poll with nothing less than 80 percent of total votes, says Chairman
Lagos State Governor and the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Campaign Council for November 16 Ondo State governorship election, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has assured his party leadership that the committee would win the forthcoming governorship election with nothing less than 80 percent of the total votes.
He urged all the party leaders and members to work for the victory of the APC gubernatorial candidate, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa in the November 16 poll.
Sanwo-Olu, who is the South-West leader of APC, spoke on Monday during the inauguration of the APC National Campaign Council by the party leadership led by the National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, at Akure, the capital of Ondo State
Governor Sanwo-Olu, who noted that the party had given him the same assignment in the state twice, pledged that the campaign council will do everything within their means constitutionally and professionally to defeat other political parties in the November 16th poll.
The Lagos State Governor appreciated President Bola Tinubu, who he described as the leader of the party, for giving his support for the APC National Campaign Council to lead the governorship campaign in Ondo State.
He said: “On behalf of my entire team, most of whom are here today, we want to assure our party and everybody that we will do everything within our means; constitutionally and professionally to ensure that a free, fair, highly competitive election and campaign about issues is what we will be doing.
“It will not be a campaign on sentiment and abuse but on issues because Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has made our life a lot easier. We can boldly come out for Governor Aiyedatiwa because he has made us proud within his 305 days period as a governor of the state.
“We will go out with our full chest to campaign for him. We will not disappoint the party and the people of the state. We will win with nothing less than 80 percent of the total votes.”
In his address, the APC National Chairman, Ganduje, expressed confidence that the ruling party in Ondo State will win the governorship election with a wide margin in a free and fair contest.
Ganduje while inaugurating the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led 305-member council, urged them to swing into action and build a strong synergy with the state and local campaign council for APC to be victorious in the next month gubernatorial poll.
“We are here to create an enabling environment so that the election will be free and fair. And the election will be victorious for our party. We must support him (Governor Aiyedatiwa) so that he will continue to provide good governance for the state. He is a lucky man, and he will continue to be lucky,” Ganduje said.
Speaking earlier, Governor Aiyedatiwa said he deserved to be reelected based on performance, noting that within the last 10 months in office, he had focused on infrastructural development, public utilities renewal, boosting agricultural production, entrepreneurship and youth development, job creation and security.
He said: “We are filled with hope and determination as we look forward to the election of 16th of November, 2024 with so much enthusiasm. For us, it is an election that promises to be a defining moment for our great Party, Ondo State and Nigeria at large.
“What we are doing here today is a display of the strength of our will when we work together. It is the evidence of our capability which by God’s grace will produce victory on 16th November, 2024.
“I believe government is about the people. We are resolute and committed to that faith. We have worked hard for the heart of the people. We are talking to them house to house, door to door and mouth to ears. Above all, we are committed to a peaceful and credible election, where votes count.”
SIGNED
GBOYEGA AKOSILE
SPECIAL ADVISER – MEDIA AND PUBLICITY
29 OCTOBER 2024
