The Federal Government spends $600 million monthly on fuel imports.
The disclosure was made by Mr. Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun.
He said this while granting an interview on AIT on August 7.
Edun said this situation was a key factor in President Tinubu’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy, as the country lacks precise data on domestic fuel consumption.
He recalled that the fuel subsidy was removed on May 29, 2023, by the president. He said at the time, the poorest of 40% was only getting 4% of the value, and almost not benefitting anything at all.
He said the money was going to just a few people.
The minister said the other important point is that nobody knows the actual consumption of petroleum in Nigeria.
Edun said they knew they were spending $600m to import fuel every month but all the neighbouring countries were benefitting from it.
He said Nigeria was buying fuel not for just for Nigeria, but for countries to the east, almost as far as Central Africa, the countries to the North and the countries to the West.
