This photo shows Shell's major oil and gas terminal on Bonny Island, in southern Nigeria's Niger Delta.(Xinhua File Photo)
Africa's major oil producer Nigeria has proposed to increase crude oil benchmark price from 55 U.S. dollars to 57 U.S. dollars per barrel to pay salaries and emolument of the 30,000 recruitment in the police, army, immigration and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
by Yemi Fadare, Olatunji Saliu
ABUJA, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government has proposed in a new budget to increase crude oil benchmark price from 55 U.S. dollars to 57 U.S. dollars per barrel.
The announcement was made on Tuesday when Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari presented next year's national spending bill at a joint session of the National Assembly.
The marker serves as a reference price for buyers and sellers of the country's crude oil.
According to the president, the profit of the increment is to be used to pay salaries and emolument of the proposed 30,000 recruitment of 30,000 personnel in the police, army, immigration, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
On an earlier upgrade of the price in 2018 from 45 dollars to 50.5 dollars, local oil experts expressed optimism in the increase, saying it will bring hope to the populace and boost the economy.
On October 3, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative said the oil and gas sector plays a significant role in the nation's economy, as it accounts for 65 percent of total revenue to the government.
In the fiscal bill proposed by Buhari, the daily production of crude oil stood at 2.18 million barrels per day as the nation's oil regulatory agency, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and security agencies make efforts to curb menaces of oil theft and vandalization.
The bill also maintained the exchange rate of 305 nairas to one dollar, as seen over the past three years with an expectation of 2.93 percent gross domestic product growth rate in 2020. ■
