A new 15% import duty on petrol and diesel, approved by President Bola Tinubu, is projected to add nearly one hundred naira to the cost of a litre of fuel. The policy, confirmed in an October 21st presidential letter, aims to align import costs with domestic realities but will immediately increase the financial burden on consumers.
The announcement has prompted a renewed commitment from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to address the nation’s long-standing refinery crisis.
NNPCL’s Group CEO, Bayo Ojulari, stated the company has begun a fresh review of the country’s three refineries and is exploring options to find “technical equity partners to ‘high-grade or repurpose’ the facilities.”
This latest effort to revive the refineries comes after a history of expensive failures. Despite an investment of approximately $3 billion in rehabilitation, the Port Harcourt refinery only operated sporadically for a few months, the Warri refinery has failed to function after its reported restart, and the Kaduna refinery has never been operational.
Ojulari expressed optimism despite these setbacks, stating, “The NNPCL continues to remain optimistic that the refineries will operate efficiently, despite current setbacks.”
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