We Are Not Buying Petrol For Just Nigeria – Finance Minister

Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, has disclosed that Nigeria imports fuel not just for itself but also for bordering countries.

According to him, the country spends $600 million each month on gasoline imports. He stated this during an interview with AIT.

The Minister added that President Bola Tinubu opted to withdraw the fuel subsidy due to a lack of precise statistics on the nation’s domestic fuel consumption.

“The fuel subsidy was removed May 29, 2023, by Mr President, and at that time, the poorest of 40 per cent was only getting four per cent of the value, and basically, they were not benefitting at all. So it was going to be just a few. Another important point 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.

“So we are buying not for just 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 have to ask ourselves as Nigerians, how long do we want to do that for and that is the key issue regarding the issue of petroleum pricing.”

The finance minister went on to explain that the N570 billion money disbursement to state governments would take effect 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.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli