AdminHuman Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to use his good offices to ensure the continued implementation of the naira-to-crude deal between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other indigenous refineries, as any change in this arrangement would result in sudden and indiscriminate increases in pump prices for petroleum products.
In a statement by signed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA appealed to President Tinubu to in the spirit of the Sallah celebrations, intervene and ensure that the committee implementing the naira-for-crude policy gets NNPCL and Dangote Refinery to reach an agreement for the continuation of the deal.
Join our WhatsApp Channel“In the spirit of the Sallah celebrations and given the public shows of supplications to God by the President and other public office holders as part of the end of the fasting and Lenten period, we are praying President Tinubu to direct his coordinating minister for the economy and the minister of Finance to transparently and rapidly reach agreement to continue the naira-to-crude-deal with local crude oil refineries including the Dangote Petroleum refinery,” HURIWA stated.
The rights group stressed that any alteration of the deal would impose more hardships on Nigerians, thereby pushing millions into poverty.
“We make this public supplication and appeal because any alteration to this deal would mean excruciating hardships and the massive affliction of poverty on millions of the already suffering, struggling and multidimensionally poor households,” the Rights group added.
HURIWA argued that political leadership is not about theatrics or empty rhetoric, but leadership ought to be embedded in the virtues of compassion, care for humanity and implementation of economic policies with humane face.
“It is only when the interests of the greatest percentage of the citizens are satisfied that a central or regional government can be assessed to have kept faith with the constitutionally guaranteed principles of transparency, accountability and promotion of the public good. The security and welfare of the citizenry is the primary lawful duty of government.”
READ ALSO: Naira-for-crude Deal Could Have Negative Impact On Nigeria’s Economy – Depot Owners
In the statement, the group expressed concerns that failure to sustain the implementation of the naira-to-crude deal means many more Nigerians would be thrown out of work as the high energy costs may become unbearable for many small and medium scale businesses employing them who depend on privately generated electricity power supply which come basically from petrol powered generators, would shut down.
“This would lead to immediate closure of hundreds of thousands of businesses and eventual dismissal of thousands of private sector workers,” it stated.
The Rights group affirmed that even citizens working in federal and state government agencies would be in severely impacted by the anticipated hikes in transportation and costs of living as a result of upward adjustments in the prices of Petroleum products and the persistent poor salaries that these public sector workers earned.
The group stated that there is a general climate of public anxiety in the downstream arm of the oil and gas sector as operators await the decision of the Federal Government on the naira-for-crude deal between the NNPCL and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
READ ALSO: Petrol Pump Price Hits N970 After Naira-for-crude Deal Suspension
The six-month naira-for-crude deal, which started in October 2024, officially ends, today, Monday, March 31, 2025. The deal’s extension or complete halt is still being discussed by the parties involved. However, it was gathered on Sunday that the committee responsible for the negotiations has yet to resolve on the matter.
As this lingers, the effect is now felt in the pump prices of refined petroleum products.
Petrol has increased from about N860/litre to over N930/litre within one week. Dealers blamed this on the failure of the Federal Government to extend the naira-for-crude deal between the NNPCL and the Dangote refinery.
Marketers also projected further hike in petrol price. They said the cost may hit N1,000/litre in weeks if nothing is done about the naira-for-crude deal that earlier helped in checking the rise in petrol prices.
Meanwhile, barring any last-minute change, the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote refinery is expected to shut down its petrol-producing unit for maintenance. According to Reuters, the maintenance, which may occur in June, will last for 30 days.
HURIWA said it advocates humane and compassionate governance from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose economic policies have led to economic hardship.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
