Finance Minister Schools Atiku On Petrol Pricing—Presidency Reacts To Oyedele’s Interview On Live TV

The Presidency has reacted to an interview granted by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, on Channels Television Politics Today, with presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga saying the minister had explained why Nigeria could not supply crude oil to local refineries at discounted prices.

Oyedele appeared on the programme on Friday to discuss the controversy surrounding the reduction in petrol prices at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) retail outlets and issues relating to crude oil supply to domestic refineries.

During the interview, the finance minister explained that Nigeria was not yet producing enough crude oil to meet the requirements of the Dangote Refinery, which has a stated processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

“We Nigeria are still not at the point where we can give Dangote Refinery 700,000 seven hundred thousand barrels of crude oil; we don’t have enough to service Dangote Refinery,” Oyedele said.

Reacting to the interview, Onanuga, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, said the minister had schooled former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on petrol pricing.

“Finance Minister Oyedele schools Atiku on petrol pricing. He explains that Nigeria does not have the underpriced crude barrels to give to refineries,” Onanuga wrote.

The reaction comes amid debates over domestic crude oil supply, petrol pricing and the extent to which locally produced crude can be made available to Nigerian refineries at discounted rates. 

Oyedele’s explanation highlighted the supply constraints facing the country as it seeks to meet local refining demand.

Newstrend24 feedback-opera-news-app@opera.com