491
Refined fuel imports cost $1.04 billion in 2021 down from $1.32 billion in 2020, says Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data. Even the $28 million difference is a big waste in a country with four refineries.
Muhammadu Buhari as both President and Oil Minister squandered N100 billion on rehabilitating the four refineries in 2021 without any of them producing a single litre of refined oil. They are simply conduits for cronies to drain the treasury.
This has gone on for years, before he won Aso Rock, but escalated since he became President and planted Northerners in all the key posts in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), even as crude oil is domiciled in the South.
Successive federal administrations refuse to do the best thing, which is privatising the refineries, because they provide avenues for turn around maintenance (TAM) contracts in inflated sums shared by Abuja officials.
Importation of fuel consumes huge external reserves which dropped to $39.77 billion on 15 February 2022 from $40.54 billion in December 2021.