Olusegun Ariyo
The import of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) into Nigeria dropped by 13.77 percent to 20.30 billion liters in 2023 compared to 23.54 billion liters in 2022.
The National Bureau of Statistics disclosed this in its latest Petroleum Products Distribution Data for 2023.
This showed that petrol imports were reduced following the introduction of the fuel subsidy removal policy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government in May 2023.
The data also indicated that the distribution of petrol dropped by 16.96 percent to 20.22 billion liters from 24.35 billion liters recorded in 2023.
Similarly, data showed that a total of 4.94 billion liters of Automotive Gas oil were imported in 2023, indicating an increase of 23.66 percent.
Recall that in 2023, the federal government announced fuel subsidy removal which saw the price of the product rise from N238 per litre to above N600 per litre.
Meanwhile, in September 2024, the pump price of petrol rose to between N950.22 and N1,100 per liter.
This happened as Nigeria began domestic distribution production of petrol at Dangote Refinery on September 15, 2024.
