Abuja, Nigeria – The Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, announced on Friday that daily petrol consumption in Nigeria has seen a significant reduction, falling from 66.6 million litres to 46 million litres. This decline in petrol consumption comes on the heels of the removal of the fuel subsidy.
Kyari made this revelation during a briefing in Abuja alongside the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, stating, “the consumption of Petrol Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol, had dropped from 66.6 million litres to 46 million litres daily.” Additionally, he noted that the country’s oil production has increased to 1.6 million barrels per day.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, in his own briefing, disclosed that the federal government has disbursed N2 billion out of the N5 billion allocated for palliative measures following the removal of the fuel subsidy, with the objective of mitigating inflation.
Minister Edun reiterated President Bola Tinubu’s stance on the budget, emphasizing the necessity of reducing the country’s expenditure on debt servicing, which currently consumes over 90% of its revenue.
Key government officials who participated in the briefing included the Minister of Budget, Abubakar Bagudu; Director General of the Budget Office, Mrs. Patience Oniha; Senior Assistant to the President on Tax Reforms, Zacch Adedeji; and Chairman of the Presidential Tax Reform Committee, Taiwo Oyedele.
This development underscores the ongoing efforts to manage economic changes in Nigeria, particularly in the petroleum sector, as the country adjusts to the subsidy removal and seeks to address various economic challenges.
