Fuel importation costs Nigeria $600m monthly – Finance minister

Fuel importation costs Nigeria $600m monthly – Finance minister

Nigeria pays $600 million monthly on fuel imports, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has revealed.

According to Edun, this high expenditure is partly due to neighbouring countries benefiting from these fuel imports, extending as far as Central Africa. During an interview on AIT’s ‘Moneyline with Nancy,’ shared on the station’s YouTube channel on Wednesday, Edun explained that this situation prompted President Bola Tinubu to eliminate the fuel subsidy, as the country lacked precise data on its domestic fuel consumption.

He said: “The fuel subsidy was removed on May 29, 2023, by Mr. President, and at that time, the poorest 40 percent of the population was only getting four percent of the subsidy’s value, and basically, they were not benefiting at all. So, only a few were benefiting.

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“Another important point is that nobody knows the actual petroleum consumption in Nigeria. We know we spend $600 million to import fuel every month, but the issue is that all the neighbouring countries benefit. So we are not just buying for Nigeria; we are buying for countries to the east, almost as far as Central Africa. We are buying for countries to the north, and we are buying for countries to the west. And so we must ask ourselves as Nigerians, how long do we want to do that for? That is the key issue regarding petroleum pricing.”

The finance minister further clarified the N570 billion fund release to state governments, which was implemented in December 2023.

“This actually refers to a reimbursement that they received from December last year onwards, and it was a reimbursement, I think, under the COVID financing protocol. But the point is that the states have received more money. They have received more money. Mr. President has charged to ensure food production in the states,” he said.