Mr Wale Edun, The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy has revealed that the country currently spends a whooping $600m on fuel importation monthly.
He stated that the high import bill is due to neighboring countries, up to Central Africa, benefiting from the country’s fuel imports.
Edun explained that the situation was the reason President Bola Tinubu removed fuel subsidy, as the country does not know the exact amount of fuel consumed internally.
There is a report from the National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s petrol import was reduced to an average of one billion litres monthly immediately after the announcement by President Bola Tinubu of the removal of the fuel subsidy on May 29 2023.
“Another point that I think is important is that nobody knows the consumption in Nigeria of petroleum. We know we spend $600m to import fuel every month but the issue here is that all the neighbouring countries are benefitting.
He added that the nation must take a decisive step to tackle the problem as it impedes its economic growth and that of great importance to the government is the welfare of the people, particularly the vulnerable as per food availability and affordability.
