By NANA MUSA-UMAR

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, says the Dangote Refinery will begin the distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) on Sunday.

Edun, who was represented by the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji, said this at a news conference in Abuja on Friday.

?I am glad to announce that all agreements have been completed and loading of the first batch of PMS from the Dangote Refinery will commence on Sunday, Sept. 15.

?From Oct. 1, NNPC Ltd. will commence the supply of about 385kbpd of crude oil to the Dangote Refinery, to be paid for in Naira. In return, the Dangote Refinery will supply PMS and diesel of equivalent value to the domestic market, to be paid in Naira.

?Diesel will be sold in Naira by the Dangote Refinery to any interested off-taker. PMS will only be sold to NNPC, NNPC will then sell to various marketers for now,? he said.

Edun said that all associated regulatory costs (NPA, NIMASA, etc.) would also be paid for in Naira.

?We are also setting up a one-stop shop that will coordinate service provision from all regulatory, and security agencies, and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth implementation of this initiative. This will be located in Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA). Lagos.

?The technical committee that worked to flesh out this initiative will transition to an implementation execution and monitoring committee that will be working out of Lagos for the next three to six months,? he said.

Edun recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) , under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, approved the sale of crude oil to local refineries in Naira and corresponding purchase of petroleum products in Naira

He said that the initiative would help reduce pressure on the Naira, eliminate unnecessary transaction costs, and improve availability of petroleum products in the country.

The minister said that the implementation committee chaired by him, and the other technical committee had worked intensely with NNPCL and Dangote Refinery, to fashion out the details of the modalities for the implementation of FEC approval.

?We would sincerely like to thank President Tinubu for championing this novel initiative and assure him that he can count on us to implement his vision.

?I will also like to thank everyone for the hard work and patriotism exhibited over the last couple of weeks,? he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Edun chaired the presidential committee on the sales of crude oil and refined products for domestic consumption in Naira. (NAN)

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