Petroleum product imports drained about N16trn from Nigeria’s treasury in the last six years.
A report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) over the weekend showed that Nigeria spent N1.80trn on importation of petroleum products in 2010, N3.19trn in 2011, N2.89 trillion in 2012 and N3.04 trillion in 2013.
The report revealed that the country spent N3.20trn on petroleum product imports in 2014 and N1.88trn in 2015.
Daily Trust observed that the total sum spent on petroleum product imports in 2014 was N1.76trn less than the N4.96trn appropriated that year.
Analysis of the values based on products showed that import of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, gulped N12.54trn over the six-year period.
A breakdown of the values showed that Nigeria spent N1.5trn, N2.71 trillion, N2.19trn, N2.33trn, N2.35trn and N1.45trn on petrol import in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively.
Over the period under consideration, the import of Automotive Gas and Oils (AGO) amounted to N2.17trn while Household Kerosene (HHK) import amounted to N1.27trn.
The report showed that AGO import cost Nigeria N290.496bn, N475.23bn, N318.24bn, N328.69bn, N452.64bn and N305.29bn in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and last year respectively.
Reacting to the massive sums, the Director Institute of Petroleum Studies (IPS), University of Port Harcourt, Prof Mike Onyekonwu said the country has not done the right thing wasting such huge monies.
“It is a waste when you carry your raw product and send out, you don’t add value to it and you turn around and import it. We could have liberalized the sector a long time ago,” he said.
The Director, Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law, Prof Adeola Adenikinju said the sums is a reflection of the country’s unseriousness as a nation.
“You can imagine what we could do with N16trn; how many refineries we could build, how many jobs would have been created and the negative impact it has had on our foreign reserves. Now that the data is out, what is the government doing to ensure that we don’t run into this problem again?” he said.
The Country Officer, Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), Dauda Garuba, said Nigeria has only succeeded in creating jobs for other countries without adding value to its economy.
