The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disbursed a total of $2.97 billion to oil sector players for the importation of petroleum products and related items from 2022 to the first quarter of 2024. This allocation comes in response to a significant energy crisis characterized by fuel shortages and ongoing demand for imports despite the availability of fuel from Dangote Refinery.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, addressed the situation on Thursday, revealing that Nigeria now sees a net inflow of about $2.35 billion into the Central Bank’s foreign reserves, which currently stand at $37.24 billion as of September 17, 2024.
A breakdown of the CBN’s allocations shows that $1.41 billion was released for fuel imports in 2022, which decreased to $1.03 billion in 2023, a 26.9 percent decline. In the first quarter of 2024, the bank allocated $522.9 million, reflecting a slight increase from the previous year’s quarterly figures.
Despite efforts to stabilize the energy sector, the importation of petrol continues to consume significant foreign exchange, affecting the naira’s value. In the second quarter of 2024, Nigeria’s petrol imports surged to N3.22 trillion, accounting for 25 percent of total imports, and marking a 100 percent increase from N1.6 trillion in the same period of 2023.
The National Bureau of Statistics has reported a cumulative petrol import bill of N5.8 trillion in the first half of 2024, highlighting the ongoing challenges facing the country’s energy sector and its impact on foreign reserves.