FG has said that fuel subsidy removal slashed domestic consumption of petrol by 50%.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Minister of Information, Idris Mohammed, has said that Nigeria’s domestic consumption dropped from 2 billion of petrol by 50% following the removal of fuel subsidy.
Mohammed, in a conversation with the media on Thursday, revealed that the decline in importation suggests that these imports are being redirected to destinations other than Nigeria.
According to him, the removal of subsidy by President Tinubu is meant to benefit the country both in the short and long term.
He also reiterated the position that subsidy was not included in the 2023 budget before it was removed by Tinubu on May 29, 2023.
“The removal of fuel subsidy is really a big one and the president knew that it was going to be something that would be very beneficial to this country in the short-term and in the long-term.
“By May 29, 2023, when Tinubu took office, there was no provision in the budget for the fuel subsidy itself. Because the president removed it, there was no need for budgeting for it.
“At that time, Nigeria was importing for domestic consumption about 2 billion liters of PMS roughly. By the time fuel subsidy was removed, our domestic consumption had come down to about fifty per cent. That immediately was a pointer to something.
“It meant that either people were now more disciplined that they not using their cars as they should or this import was going elsewhere. And I think the study shows that import was actually going elsewhere,” Mohammed said.
