Market News

Nigeria’s daily consumption of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, commonly known as petrol, has dropped by 92 percent following the federal government’s recent removal of fuel subsidies, according to findings by BusinessDay.

Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Daily Truck Out Report reveals that as of August 20, 2024, petrol consumption dropped to 4.5 million litres per day.

In contrast, daily consumption was recorded at 60 million litres per day in May 2023, marking an astonishing 92 percent decrease since President Tinubu’s inauguration.

The NMDPRA report showed that only 16 out of the 36 states in Nigeria received product allocations from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, during the month in question. Consequently, states that did not receive allocations experienced significant scarcity of petrol in August.

Among the states receiving allocations, Niger led with the highest distribution of 21 trucks, totaling 940,000 litres daily. Lagos followed with 12 trucks, amounting to 726,001 litres, and Kaduna received 12 trucks containing 454,001 litres.

Other states, including Oyo (12 trucks), Kano (9 trucks), and Ondo (6 trucks), also received allocations, while Sokoto, Ogun, Osun, Gombe, Benue, Ekiti, and Kebbi received varying smaller amounts.

President Tinubu announced the termination of petrol subsidies on May 29, 2023, stating that the subsidy system, which had cost the government approximately N12 trillion over the past decade, was no longer sustainable and had contributed to the nation’s significant debt.