According to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, the Federal Government of Nigeria is currently expending $600 million each month on fuel imports. Speaking during an interview with AIT on Wednesday, August 7, Edun highlighted this substantial cost as a major factor behind President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy.
Edun pointed out that the subsidy, which was removed on May 29, 2023, primarily benefited a small segment of the population. He noted that the poorest 40 percent of Nigerians were only receiving four percent of the subsidy’s value, making it an inefficient and inequitable policy.
The minister also underscored the challenge of accurately determining Nigeria’s domestic fuel consumption, emphasizing that a significant portion of the imported fuel was being consumed in neighboring countries. “We are essentially buying fuel not just for Nigeria but for neighboring countries to the east, north, and west,” Edun explained.
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This situation, he stressed, raises critical questions about the sustainability of such expenditures, making it imperative to reconsider the pricing and distribution of petroleum products in the country.
