The National Bureau of Statistics, in its recent data, said the amount spent on the importation of petroleum products into Nigeria rose to N700.46 billion in the third quarter of 2020.
This figure is three times more than the N221.47 billion spent on importing fuel in the second quarter, and 44.08% lower than the N1.25 trillion spent in the first quarter of this year.
According to data obtained from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the volume of petrol imported into Nigeria through the Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP) scheme fell from as high as 2.25 billion liters in March to 1.81 billion liters in April, as well as 495.10 million liters in May due to the lockdown imposed by the Federal Government to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.
Selected overseas refiners, trading companies and indigenous companies under the DSDP scheme have been given crude supplies in exchange for the delivery of an equal value of petrol and other refined products to the NNPC.
Meanwhile, NNPC, which has been Nigeria’s major importer of petroleum products into the country in recent years, has dilapidated refineries despite several reports of repairs.
