Presidency Reacts To Oyedele’s Interview On Live TV

The Presidency has responded to comments made by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, regarding Nigeria’s inability to provide crude oil to local refineries at reduced prices. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said the minister had clarified the challenges affecting the supply of discounted crude to domestic refiners.

Oyedele made the remarks during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, where he discussed the recent reduction in petrol prices at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) filling stations and the ongoing debate over crude oil supply to local refineries.

During the interview, the minister explained that Nigeria’s current crude oil production was insufficient to meet the full requirements of the Dangote Refinery, which has a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

Oyedele maintained that the country had yet to reach a production level that would allow it to supply the refinery with the volume of crude oil it requires. He stressed that the available supply remained inadequate to meet the facility’s demands.

Reacting to the minister’s comments, Onanuga, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, said Oyedele had addressed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s position on petrol pricing.

In a post responding to the interview, Onanuga argued that Nigeria lacked sufficient crude oil supplies that could be sold to refineries at below-market prices, reinforcing the government’s position on the issue.

The development comes amid ongoing discussions about the availability of crude oil for domestic refining, petrol price reductions and calls for locally produced crude to be supplied to Nigerian refineries at discounted rates.

Oyedele’s remarks underscore the supply difficulties facing Nigeria as it works to meet the needs of its growing domestic refining sector while balancing crude oil availability and pricing considerations.

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