FG spends $600m monthly on fuel importation – Minister of Finance, Wale Edun

Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, has revealed that Nigeria currently spends $600 million each month on fuel imports.

Wale Edun

Edun attributed this high expenditure to neighboring countries, extending to Central Africa, benefiting from Nigeria’s fuel imports.

Edun disclosed this information during an interview on AIT’s Moneyline program on Wednesday, August 7. He explained that this situation significantly influenced President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy, as the country lacks accurate data on domestic fuel consumption.

According to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s petrol imports were reduced to an average of one billion liters monthly after President Bola Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy on May 29 last year.

“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 value, and basically, they were not benefiting at all. So it was going to just a few,” Edun said.

He further elaborated, “Another point that I think is important is that nobody knows the consumption in Nigeria of petroleum. We know we spend $600 million to import fuel every month, but the issue here is that all the neighboring countries are benefiting.

“So we are buying not just for Nigeria, but for countries to the east, almost as far as Central Africa. We are buying for countries to the North and 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.”

Edun emphasized that the welfare of Nigerians remains a key priority for the current administration, particularly ensuring food availability and affordability.