Economy
Petrol Imports Down by 3.58 billion Litres in One Year—NBS
By Adedapo Adesanya
Importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol dropped by 3.5 billion litres in the last year, data gathered from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has shown.
According to the data, the total petrol imports reduced to 20.30 billion litres in 2023 from the 23.54 billion litres recorded in 2022, showing a decrease of 13.8 per cent year-on-year.
NBS also noted that petrol imports dropped by 3.58 billion litres in the second half of 2023 compared to the year’s first half.
It said the country imported 8.36 billion litres of petrol in H2 of 2023, lower than the 11.94 billion litres imported in H1 2023 by 29.99 per cent.
It said, “In 2023, PMS truck out stood at 20.22 billion litres, indicating a 16.96 per cent decrease relative to 24.35 billion litres recorded in 2022.
“In terms of imported products, 20.30 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit were imported in 2023 relative to 23.54 billion litres in 2022, showing a decrease of 13.77 per cent. This downward trend is even more notable when compared to H2 2022.
“In the latter half of 2022, petrol imports stood at 11.98 billion litres, resulting in a 30.22 per cent drop when compared to H2 2023, equivalent to a reduction of 3.62 billion litres.”
A breakdown for the monthly volume of fuel imports in 2023 showed that 2.09 billion was brought in January, reduced to 1.99 billion in February, increased to 2.29 billion in March, 1.91 billion in April, and 2.01 billion in May.
It was 1.64 billion in June, 1.45 billion in July, 1.09 billion in August, 1.21 billion in September, 1.16 billion in October, 1.55 billion in November and 1.88 billion in December.
These figures showed a deeper fall after President Bola Tinubu announced an initial stop to fuel subsidy payments in late May 2023.
Similarly, the bureau stated that the volume of Automotive Gas Oil, also known as diesel imported into Nigeria, rose to 4.94 billion litres in 2023 from four billion litres in 2022.
The NBS data also showed that 109.39 million litres of AGO was locally produced in 2023, representing a 6.76 per cent rise from 102.47 million litres produced in 2022.
“About 69.71 million litres of Household Kerosene were locally produced in 2023 compared to 44.68 million litres in 2022, indicating a growth rate of 56.02 per cent over the period.
“For Automotive Gas Oil, 109.39 million litres were locally produced in 2023, when compared to 102.47 million litres reported in 2022. This represents a 6.76 per cent growth rate.
“Also, 4.94 billion litres of Automotive Gas Oil were imported in 2023, indicating an increase of 23.66 per cent compared to four billion litres in the previous year,” It added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
