Nigeria's fuel import surge to N4.56 trillion in 2021

Nigeria used an amount of N4.56 trillion on the importation of fuel in 2021 over 128% bigger than the N2 trillion disbursed on fuel importation in 2020.

This is by foreign exchange data newly circulated by the National Bureau of Statistics. This is the biggest quantity consumed on the importation of fuel.

A whopping N6.3 trillion was spent on Fuels and Lubricants imports in 2021 stunting the N2.83 trillion, N2.5 trillion, and N3.8 trillion incurred by Nigeria in 2020, 2019, and 2018 respectively.

Nigeria is currently undergoing one of the horrible fuel hardships in current years and fuel rows continue to be clammy as a result of adulterated fuel that is been cleared out.

Diesel fees have newly shot up to about N700 per litre.

Moreover, diesel (AGO) is imported and from the records, importation of petroleum products other than the fuel price N1.7 trillion which comprises AGO. In 2020, Nigeria’s NNPC reported

 that it received a dividend of N151.8 billion from exceptional fuel import and another N39.9 billion in AGO.

However, Fuel fees are over N166.40 and N170.42 in January and February 2022. Nonetheless, this normal is plausible to surge as a result of the fuel scarcities encountered in March 2022.

Numerous years of failed refineries imply that Nigeria has to imports approximately all its fuel requirements for a nation that depends heavily on the petroleum by-product to power cars and electricity.

The Nigerian Government presently finances fuel after ceasing to function at numerous undertakings to clear out a petrol stipend.

Recently, Bukola Saraki, the retired Senate President questioned assertions by the federal government that Nigeria absorbs over 70 million litres a day consumption, asserting that Nigeria’s fuel consumption cannot be further than 35 million litres a day, and indicated that Nigeria could be investing fuel for neighbouring West African states.

The signals to stop fuel stipends have heightened in contemporary years, particularly by financial analysts and foreign investors mentioning the training as trash of our financial reserves.

However, the government lacks the stamina to engage the coalitions that have vehemently obstructed the eviction over the years.

According to the records,  Crude oil exports pinnacled N14.4 trillion at the end of 2021. At N4.56 trillion Nigeria’s spending on fuel is scarcely loftier than the N4.5 trillion reaped by the Federal Government between January and November 2021.

The N4.56 trillion consumed on fuel stipend is also the coequal of over $10 billion in forex discharge endured by the nation.

Essential to remark, that fuel importation is also via the NNPC’s Direct Sale of Crude Oil and Direct Purchase of Petroleum products policy of the NNPC.

The existing government does not have any strategy to discard fuel subsidies and will plausibly incur an even increased cost of importation this year.