The Naira continued its downward trend on Friday, depreciating to N1,660 per dollar in the parallel market.

This represents a slight decline from the N1,655 per dollar traded on Thursday.

In a similar vein, the Naira depreciated to N1,546.41 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday. According to data from FMDQ, the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM fell from N1,649.76 per dollar on Thursday, indicating a marginal appreciation of N103.35 for the Naira.

However, the gap between the parallel market and NAFEM rates widened significantly, increasing to N113.59 per dollar from N5.24 per dollar the previous day. This growing disparity highlights the ongoing instability in the foreign exchange market.

The Federal Government says it has commenced distribution of fresh Compressed Natural Gas kits to some states of the federation in its drive to foster rapid adoption of CNG.

This was disclosed Friday by an official of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, Moses Onate, during an inspection of the CNG kit warehouse located in Ibafo, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State.

With the hike in fuel prices, many drivers claimed they have been struggling to keep their businesses afloat.

The exercise, which the Federal Government said could reduce the cost of transportation by over 40 per cent started in Abuja and Lagos.

Speaking on the distribution Onate noted that states like Lagos, Oyo, Kaduna, Ogun and the FCT would be getting 1,000 conversion kits to continue the conversion initiative.

Onate added that of the 1,000 kits made available to the warehouse, 450 have been distributed to Kaduna and Abuja while 550 would be distributed to Lagos, Ogun and Oyo.

He said, “As of this morning, 450 have gone out to Kaduna and Abuja. 550 will be going to Lagos, Oyo, and Ogun states today.”

He also said the FG had not got any negative feedback on the kits distributed previously.

According to him, there are up to 10 CNG conversion centres in Lagos State alone.

“This initiative will seriously help people as regards the cost in the sense that fuel is around a thousand naira now, but CNG is around N210/N230.

“The gross margin between what fuel is being sold for and CNG price will have a lot of positive impact on everybody. We will live to enjoy CNG,” he said.

In his reaction, a pipeline engineer at the warehouse, Austin Nwaodhu, urged motorists and vehicle owners to adopt the CNG initiative stressing that it offers a cheaper alternative to fuel because of its low consumption rate, and user-friendliness.

He added that CNG did not emit much fumes into the atmosphere which could cause harm to members of the public.

“CNG is a good initiative by the president that will help to bring down the cost of running a vehicle compared to petrol. It will bring down the cost of running our cars.

“It is friendly to the environment and does not emit fumes unlike petrol,” Nwaodhu stressed.

The much-anticipated arrival of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), better known as petrol, from Dangote Refinery is set to take place on Sunday, September 15. According to sources cited by Businessday, the Lagos-based refinery is prepared to commence distribution of its refined petrol to marketers across Nigeria.

In preparation for the launch, marketers have been advised to dispatch their trucks to the refinery today (Friday) for loading. This significant initiative is expected to bolster the country’s fuel supply, reduce dependence on imports, and alleviate the existing challenges faced by consumers.

Despite the imminent entry of Dangote’s petrol into the market, Naija News reports that fuel prices are expected to remain stable for the time being. Initially, Dangote Refinery plans to supply 25 million litres of petrol daily through the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Trading Limited.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has expressed readiness to procure PMS from Dangote Refinery, provided that the price is lower than their current acquisition costs. IPMAN President Abubakar Maigandi stated that members are keen to explore purchasing arrangements but await clarity on Dangote’s pricing structure.

“After a meeting with our members today, we are ready to buy petrol from Dangote Refinery as long as the price remains competitive,” Maigandi explained. He noted that NNPCL, the sole importer of petrol, currently sells to marketers at an average price of N875 per liter. Consequently, petrol is sold at N930 to N940 depending on sourcing conditions, with a depot price of up to N990 per liter.

Maigandi emphasized that if Dangote Refinery offers a more attractive price, there is no reason for marketers to avoid its products. “We have no issue with Dangote Refinery,” he affirmed.

This statement follows comments from Edwin Devakumar, Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited, who suggested that local petroleum marketers are hesitating to purchase from the refinery despite competitive pricing. During an X space session hosted by Nairametrics, he claimed that only 3 percent of local marketers have shown interest in the new petrol from Dangote.

As the launch date approaches, all eyes will be on the impact of Dangote’s petrol on the Nigerian fuel market and the potential shift in purchasing habits among local marketers.