Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, has highlighted the need for the localisation of oil and gas transactions in order to end the ongoing increase of petrol price.
During an interview on a national television monitored by The Nation, Yusuf said the localising oil and gas transactions will not only conserve foreign exchange and generate employment, but also promote greater transparency in the domestic production process.
According to him, the country’s macroeconomic environment would be significantly impacted by the release of the foreign exchange pressure.
He said: “We need to localise fuel Importation. Luckily we now have the Dangote Refinery. It is a great opportunity for us to localise all transactions relating to fuel supply. That will increase the transparency and integrity of the process. It will help us to strengthen our reserves and moderate the pressure on the exchange rate,”
Yusuf urged government officials and relevant stakeholders to investigate the issue for a resolution.
“I think higher authorities need to weigh in on this because the way it is, I’m not sure we can leave this big issue only to the NNPCL,” he added.
In addition, the CPPE boss accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) of displaying a lack of “excitemnent” regarding the onboarding of Dangote Refinery, a situation he deemed concerning.
“I am worried that the NNPC is not showing enough excitement about this Dangote Refinery and it is very strange,” he stated.
