The federal government says the amount of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) commonly known as petrol, consumed nationwide in the first half of 2023 was 11.26 billion litres.
However, following the abolition of petrol subsidies under President Bola Tinubu’s rule on May 29, 2023, the consumption flow dropped on average by about 18.5 million litres per day in June.
Data obtained by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA in Abuja on Sunday showed that from January 1 to May 28, 2023, which was the pre-liberalization period, the total consumption of national gasoline is about 9.9 billion litres.
The average consumption over the 148-day period was set at 66.9 million litres, indicating that the country consumed an average of 66.9 million litres of petrol per day over the five-month period with continued petrol subsidy.
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But data from the federal government agency showed that from June 1 to June 28, 2023, which was described as the post-deregulation period, total gasoline consumption across the country was 1.36 billion litres, while average daily consumption was estimated at 48.43 million litres.
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According to reports, the data analysis showed that the difference between the average monthly consumption in the pre-and post-freedom period was about 18.5 million litres.
The above-disclosed that average daily petrol consumption across the country fell by about 18.5 million litres after the federal government ended subsidy on the raw material.
However, it was observed that the consumption of petrol had increased to more than 100 million litres on some days, while it had decreased to less than 10 million litres on other days.
A random selection of petrol consumption data from the NMDPRA report indicated that on March 8, April 20, and May 16, Nigerians consumed 103.6 million litres, 105.02 million litres, and 101.9 million litres.
The National Atomic Energy Association says the subsidies have caused outrageous practices
President of Nigeria Association for Energy Economics, NAEE Prof. Yinka Omorogbe, said the fuel subsidy program created a pathway for bad behaviour.
There were complaints from both the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL and oil marketers that Nigerian petroleum was being smuggled out of the country to neighbouring countries during the period when the commodity was subsidized.
Announcing the upcoming 16th annual conference of the NAEE in Abuja, Omorogbe, who spoke to reporters in Abuja, said the abolition of fuel subsidy was a step in the right direction despite the serious impact.
