Fuel subsidies cost Nigeria $300 mln/month: minister

ABUJA (Reuters) - Fuel subsidies cost the Nigerian government 45 billion naira each month, the minister of state for petroleum Odein Ajumogobia said on Wednesday.

Despite vying with Angola as Africa's top oil producer, Nigeria imports 18 million litres of petrol a day or some 85 percent of its fuel needs because of the chaotic condition of its four state-owned refineries.

President Umaru Yar'Adua has promised to abolish fuel subsidies, which cost the government 640 billion naira last year or almost a quarter of its original 2008 budget.

But the government has repeatedly delayed taking action because of stiff opposition from unions, who have threatened a general strike if subsidies are lifted.

Most Nigerians live on less than $2 a day and see subsidised fuel -- capped at 65 naira a litre -- as virtually the only tangible benefit of their country being an oil producer.