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Muda Yusuf, the Founder and Chief Executive Director of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), has highlighted that Nigeria is on track to ending its custom of importing petroleum products.
Speaking on the issue during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, Yusuf highlighted the historical burden of spending 30-40% of the country’s foreign exchange on petroleum imports and noted that halting the importation of petroleum products will strengthen the economy.
Yusuf however pointed out that achieving this goal requires deliberate government action. “We are on the way of completely getting out of importation and the government has to be very deliberate about this. It’s a clear possibility. The government needs to be deliberate to ensure that it happens,” he stated, underscoring the resistance from sectors benefiting from the status quo.
To transition fully, Yusuf called for fiscal and monetary policy measures, as well as regulatory support, to encourage local production. He noted that fostering domestic refining would not only reduce dependence on imports but also have broader macroeconomic benefits.
He said, “It is the responsibility of government to commit to ensuring that they stop this importation and we encourage those who are producing locally to continue to produce. And we need to deploy fiscal policy measures, monetary policy measures, regulatory support to make that happen.”
Yusuf cited President Bola Tinubu’s 2025 projection, where Nigeria could become an exporter of petroleum products. If realised, this would provide significant relief to the country’s foreign exchange market, stabilise inflation, and improve the overall economic outlook.
“I remember that when the president presented the budget, he also highlighted it. He stated that in 2025, we’re looking at a situation where we’ll be exporting petroleum products. If we are able to do that, that will bring a lot of relief to our foreign exchange market and that will help to improve the outlook both for foreign exchange, for inflation and even for the general macroeconomic outlook,” he stated.
Furthermore, he highlighted the potential advantages for manufacturers, many of whom rely on imported petrochemical-based raw materials for their production processes.
“Even some of our manufacturers, a lot of the raw materials that they use, they import a lot of them and many of them are petroleum based, they are petrochemicals. So if you have functioning refineries, the demand or the importation of some of these raw materials that are used for plastics and things like that, even some chemical raw materials will come from these refineries,” Yusuf explained.
Yusuf urged the government to commit to supporting local refineries, noting that this effort would lead to a more self-reliant and robust economy.
“There’s a whole lot of benefits but the government needs to be deliberate to ensure that we support these refineries.”
Melissa Enoch
The post Nigeria On Track To End Petroleum Imports, Says CPPE Chief Yusuf appeared first on Arise News.
