President Bola Tinubu has broken the monopoly of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on importation and distribution of petroleum products in Nigeria. The President, accordingly, approved the issuance of licenses by the Federal Government six companies for importation of petroleum products in the country.
The Managing Director of Nigeria Mainstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDRA), Farouk Ahmed, at the State House, Abuja, stated on Monday, that six new companies have received approval to import petroleum products into the country. He added that in addition to the six, several other companies have for license to import petroleum product in the future.
The Managing Director of Nigeria Mainstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDRA) refuted reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) issued license to Dangote Group to import petroleum products into the country, noting that NNPCL has no powers to grant approval to any company for importation of petrol.
Farouk Ahmed had declared: “There are six companies who said they want to import fuel in July. Of course, all the others may import in December in November, or anytime but those who expressed interest to bring in fuel in July there were six of them as of this morning.
“The beauty of it is that there are interests which means that they have been able to have access to foreign exchange in order to import.
“Now, as we go along, of course, we’ll be briefing you on the progress or the achievements so far, but the important thing is that NNPC has 30 days fuel sufficiency, so we do not anticipate any gap in supply or in distribution.”
Moreover, the Special Adviser to the President on Revenue, Zacchaeus Adedeji, leading government officials in an interaction with shipping stakeholders at the State House, Abuja, stated that Nigeria cannot afford not to have vessels move in and out of the country.
Adedeji, speaking to the media after the meeting on Monday, dismissed fears in the oil and gas industry, pointing out agreement government made with ship owners to prevent withdrawal of vessels to prevent disruption petrol supply.