The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Ahmed Farouk, has said that Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption dropped from 71 million litres to 46 million litres in Nigeria since subsidy on petroleum products was removed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Mr. Farouk disclosed this on Monday during a stakeholders meeting with managing directors of all downstream sector operators, delegation of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Depots Owners Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) in Lagos, noting that the drop represents a 35 per cent reduction.
It could be recalled that President Tinubu had, on May 29, 2023, during inauguration, announced that “fuel subsidy is gone”.
Following the removal, Farouk said consumption of petroleum products dropped drastically.
He said: “In January, it was 62 million litres; February, 62 million litres; March, 71.4 million litre; April, 67.7 million litres; May 66.6 million litre; June, 49. 5 million litre”.
Farouk said further: “The era of subsidy payment is gone, we encourage all marketers who are interested in importing petrol to apply for licence.
“The meeting is to encourage marketers to import, so that there will be availability of petrol at every nook and cranny of the nation.
“The marketers have the choice to fix their price, because it is a free market where there will be competition.
“It is no longer Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) dominating the market, there will be other players to compete with NNPCL.
“We do not want any dominant player in the market, that was why we liberalised the market for everybody to play.”
He added that the authority was working with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), to checkmate marketers from taking undue advantage of the consumers. Read more.
—