Nigeria now West Africa’s largest exporter of petroleum products, says Reno Omokri

Reno Omokri, former presidential media aide and ambassador-designate to Mexico, says Nigeria has moved from being Africa’s largest importer of petrol to becoming the biggest exporter of petroleum products in West Africa under Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Omokri made the claim in a statement posted on social media on Sunday, adding that Nigeria relied heavily on imported fuel before Tinubu assumed office.

According to the fomer media aide, the federal government previously paid subsidies to importers rather than refiners.

Omokri said the subsidy regime also encouraged the smuggling of subsidised petrol to neighbouring countries.

Sharing a photo of a queue in a petrol station, Omokri wrote: “This was our reality in Nigeria before Asiwaju Bola Tinubu became President of this great nation.

“When this photo was taken, our country was the largest importer of petrol in Africa. And it did not end there.

“Our government was paying subsidies to importers, not refiners, who were importing petroleum at astronomical levels.

“And even with that, Nigerians were still sleeping in petrol stations because the subsidised imported fuel meant for Nigerians was being smuggled to neighbouring nations.”

Omokri challenged Nigerians to provide evidence of similar experiences under Tinubu’s administration.

“If in the last three years of President Bola Tinubu, you have ever slept at a petrol station or queued for fuel for long hours, because of fuel scarcity, please signify in the comment section and name the date and place,” he said.

“The fact is that Nigeria, under Tinubu, has gone from being the largest importer of petrol in Africa in 2023 to being the largest exporter of petroleum products in West Africa in 2026,” he added.

Omokri acknowledged that petrol prices have increased but attributed the development to current global factors.

“Yes, petrol prices have gone up recently, but that is a global challenge caused by the Middle East crisis, not by any misgovernance in Nigeria,” he said.