- Border Closure: Petrol, Diesel Importation Drop in September
The volume of petrol and diesel imported into Nigeria in the month of September declined by 11 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday.
According to the report, the volume of petrol imported into the country in September declined to 1.46 billion litres, down from 11.46 billion litres imported in August and 1.99 billion litres in July.
Similarly, the volume of Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) imported into the country plunged to its lowest this year in September at 322.63 million litres against 377.91 million litres in August and 483.93 million litres in July.
The decline was attributed to the closure of land borders as smugglers were unable to move the product into neighbouring countries.
Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director, NNPC, had said evacuation of petrol from fuel deports since the borders were closed has dropped. Suggesting the inability of smugglers to move items through borders, if maintained, would boost Nigeria’s foreign reserves as importation would continue to drop.
“Significant drop in the PMS evacuation from fuel depots noted since August 22nd may be connected to border closure and other interventions of the security agencies aimed at curbing smuggling. We will contain smuggling of the PMS,” Kyari stated.
In September, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timpre Sylva, said Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption dropped from 60 million litres per day to 52 million litres following the closure of the border. Another evidence of the effectiveness of the border closure.