Breaking: Tinubu to depart Abuja hours after restructuring NNPC
President Bola Tinubu has been scheduled to depart Nigeria for Paris in France, on Wednesday, April 2, on a short working visit.
This was disclosed in a statement by the presidency on the same day. Bayo Onanuga, the spokesperson to the president, noted that Tinubu will appraise his mid-term performance of his administration and assess his major achievements while being outside the country.
The statement reads in part:
“This period of reflection will inform plans to deepen ongoing reforms and accelerate national development priorities in the coming year.”
President Tinubu’s commitment to this move was being influenced by the recent economic strikes. The statement added that this has been shown in the report of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) about a significant increase in the net foreign exchange reserves to $23.11 billion.
According to the presidency, the CBN revelation was a testament to the fiscal reforms Tinubu had started since 2023, when the reserves were $3.99 billion.
Onanuga further disclosed that the president will continue to engage members of his team and will continue to oversee the activities of governance.
See the full statement here:
Tinubu sacked NNPC boss
This came hours after the president sacked the former group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, and announced the appointment of his replacement, Bayi Ojulari.
The president also sacked all board members who were appointed alongside Kyari in November 2023. This latest development happened amid the ongoing saga between the NNPC Limited and Dangote Refinery, a major privately owned refinery in Nigeria.
The NNPC earlier agreed to sell Nigeria’s crude oil to the refinery in naira, with the hope of stabilising the currency and reducing fuel prices in Nigeria.
NNPC ends crude for naira deal with Dangote
However, the deal ended a month ago, and the two companies did not renew the contract, which has led to an increase in the price of fuel.
Retailers are now importing fuel rather than buying from Dangote, with the private refinery also selling in dollars following the end of the deal.
On April 2, the presidency announced a major shakeup in Nigeria’s major oil company as Tinubu’s administration sacked all the board members and made fresh appointments.
Source: TheTalk.NG
