Business
Oil Marketers, PEFMB Agree On Payment
Major oil marketers have reached an agreement with the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (Management) Board (PEFMB) to henceforth, deduct from source their indebtedness to the board.
The major marketers collectively owed PEFMB about N30 billion, an amount that has remained outstanding since 2006.
Both parties met in Abuja at the weekend for several hours to discuss the outstanding payments resulting from petroleum products bridging claims. It was learnt that the marketers ought to have paid the outstanding claims to the board before drawing from the Petroleum Support Fund (PSF). The PSF is being managed by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to pay for imported products subsidy.
To qualify to benefit from the PSF, a marketer would have secured an import licence from Federal Government and appropriate clearance from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as well as pay the bridging claims to PEFMB.
The Federal Government has suspended the PSF operation to make way for the deregulation of the downstream sector.
However, according to our source, many marketers are reluctant to make their contributions to PEFMB, preferring some short cuts.
Some would rather prefer to arm-twist the PPPRA to get their payments, side-tracking the PEFMB. It was against this background and to resolve the outstanding matters between them, that representatives of the major marketers: Oando, Total, Chevron, AP, Conoil and Mobil, met with the management of PEFMB.
Mr Goddy Nnadi, the Head of Public Affairs and Government Relations in PEFMB, confirmed the meeting in an interview last Friday.
He said it was one of the windows to reach a consensus on the grey areas and get the marketers to settle their debts now and in the future. “It was in the bid to recover this money that PEFMB wrote the federal government for permission to take the measures.
It was becoming more difficult for us to get the marketer to pay in spite of many appeals.
“The office had tried in the past to secure the services of law firms to get the debtors to pay. This is the last resort before the matter could be taken to the EFCC”, Nnadi said.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.