The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to sustain the Crude and Refined Product Sales in Naira initiative, describing it as vital to easing Nigeria’s foreign exchange (forex) challenges and securing the nation’s long-term energy future.
This assurance came during a high-level meeting of the Technical Sub-Committee on the initiative, held on Tuesday to review progress and tackle implementation bottlenecks.
“This initiative is not a stop-gap measure,” the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday. “It is a long-term policy direction approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), aligned with our broader economic transformation agenda.”
Contrary to reports suggesting the initiative had ended, officials clarified that only the pilot phase, which ran for six months, concluded in March 2025.
A statement from Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Limited, confirmed that the initial phase had wrapped up. However, the broader program remains active.
“The pilot was designed to test operational modalities. The main policy remains in effect,” Soneye stated.
The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, who also leads the broader Implementation Committee. He was joined by the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Zacch Adedeji, who heads the Technical Sub-Committee.
Also present were senior stakeholders from across the oil and gas industry, including NNPC Limited’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Dapo Segun; representatives from NNPC Refineries and NNPC Trading; Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals; and regulatory bodies such as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), and a representative of Afreximbank. The meeting was coordinated by Hauwa Ibrahim, Secretary of the Committee.
The government underscored that the Naira-for-crude policy is a strategic tool to reduce the country’s exposure to global oil price volatility and stabilize the naira.
“This is a critical pillar of our national economic agenda, and it will remain in place as long as it serves Nigeria’s interest,” officials said. “It will evolve in response to market realities and regulatory feedback.”
While acknowledging that the program has faced hurdles, the Committee stressed that the issues—ranging from logistics and infrastructure constraints to pricing templates and compliance—are being addressed.
“No major reform is without its challenges,” a senior official noted. “But we are responding with coordinated efforts involving all relevant stakeholders.”