Fuel subsidy removal
On Monday, June 19, 2023, the Federal Government of Nigeria announced that six new companies have been approved to import petroleum products to Nigeria. Farouk Ahmed, Managing Director of Nigeria Mainstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDRA) made this disclosure at the presidential villa.
According to him, “There are six companies who said they want to import fuel in July. Of course, all the others may be imported in December, November, or anytime but for 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 their interests mean that they have been able to have access to foreign exchange 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 of fuel sufficiency, so we do not anticipate any gap in supply or distribution.”
Zacchaeus Adedeji, Special Adviser to the President on Revenue, cautioned that Nigeria cannot afford to not have vessels travel in and out of the nation so President Tinubu has stopped ship owners from withdrawing their vessels because of excessive back charges.
He noted some reports that suggested two ship owners’ decision to bring their vessels into Nigeria given the expensive taxes they’ve accrued over the years.
Allaying the fears of the oil and gas sector, Adedeji spoke about the government’s plans to avert the withdrawals of these vessels so as not to disrupt the flow of products within and outside Nigeria.
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