Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), said only three percent of local oil marketers are purchasing refined petroleum products from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Edwin expressed the disappointment during an X space organised by Nairametrics online news platform.

His words: “The conglomerate of all the importers is refusing to buy from us. It is very strange that after putting up the refinery to supply the products locally, I have to export every diesel and jet fuel because they do not want to buy from us”

Edwin said: “We started selling the diesel, we fixed the price, and it was lower than the prevailing market price. Then, we brought the price further down and they (marketers) wrote to the president complaining.”

Specifically, Edwin said the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) wrote to President Bola Tinubu that the price cut affected their business “due to the large inventory of imported AGO”.

“I’m selling 2 percent to 3 percent to small traders who are willing to buy, while the rest 95 to 97% I’m forced to export,” he said.

The vice-president said the refinery may also be forced to export its petrol “if they are not willing to buy”.

But to be very frank and straightforward, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has come forward.

“They have been discussing. Although the discussion has been going on for almost three weeks and it is not yet concluded, they are working to agree with us on the quantity of crude they can sell and they said they will monitor the products.
They are going to have a team of 10 people sitting in the refinery.

They will see the crude which we are going to receive, ensuring that everything is coming into the refinery, and they would watch whether we are producing and processing everything and then, they would watch whether we are giving back all the products,” Edwin said.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed that all Point of Sale operators (POS) must route transactions through licensed payment terminal service aggregators.

A circular posted on the CBN’s website on Thursday stated that the move was aimed at enhancing the tracking and management of electronic transactions in the country.

“As part of efforts to mitigate the concerns regarding channelling all Point of Sale transactions through a single aggregator, the CBN on April 19, 2024, granted a second PTSA licence to Unified Payment Services Limited.

“In furtherance of the above, the CBN hereby directs as follows: 1 Acquirers are henceforth required to route all transactions from PoS terminals at merchant and agent locations, whether on physical or electronic PoS terminals, through any CBN-licensed Payment Terminal Service Aggregator PTSAs are required to send PoS transactions to only Processors certified by the relevant Payment Scheme, nominated by the Acquirer and licensed by CBN,” the apex bank noted.

It noted that the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc was granted a PTSA licence in 2011 to handle the aggregation of PoS transactions.

However, to address concerns about routing all transactions through one aggregator, the CBN granted a second PTSA licence to Unified Payment Services Limited earlier this year in April.

“To achieve the objectiveof tracking electronic transactions in Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria in August 2011, granted a Payment Terminal Service Aggregator licence to Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc.

As part of efforts to mitigate the concerns regarding channelling all Point of Sale transactions through a single aggregator, the CBN on April 19, 2024, granted a second PTSA licence to Unified Payment Services Limited.
The CBN has instructed that all acquirers, the institutions responsible for processing payments from PoS terminals, must channel transactions through any of the two licensed aggregators.In addition, licensed processors are required to integrate with both PTSAs to give acquirers the flexibility to choose their preferred service providers.

It noted that payment terminal service providers, responsible for deploying and managing PoS terminals, must ensure their devices and applications are configured to work with any PTSA chosen by the acquirers.

According to the CBN, PTSPs are also required to submit monthly reports to the CBN, detailing the number of merchants and agents they manage, as well as the PTSA services used.

Similarly, the CBN has mandated that each PTSA submit monthly reports of all transactions processed through their platforms.

The apex bank ordered that  the reports must be submitted to the director of the Payments System Management Department within seven days after the end of each month.

The CBN urged all PSPs to regularise their operations with the PTSAs within 30 days, warning that non-compliance with the directive would attract appropriate sanctions.

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, said on Thursday that Nigeria and the United Kingdom have signed eight partnership investment agreements worth N589 billion (£272.6m).

The investments cut across eight critical sectors of the economy.

The programme implementation agreements was signed by the minister and the UK Charge d’ Affaires, Ms Cynthia Rowe.

The agreements commit both countries to collaboration in critical sectors, including governance, climate change, education, health, and the economy.

Bagudu expressed appreciation for the UK government’s support, saying it was a significant show of friendship.

He said the timing of the implementation agreement was significant given the downward trend of world economies.

“Many economies in the world are going through turbulent times. Nigeria and the UK are not exceptions,” he stated.

The minister praised the UK’s spirit of partnership, which enabled it to support other countries despite its economic challenges.