Gasoline Traders Back Out of Nigeria Amid $6B in Unpaid Debt

Industry sources told Reuters on Thursday that Nigeria owes gasoline suppliers over $6 billion in outstanding debt, prompting traders to back out of deals with the state-run oil firm amid criticism that wasteful and corrupt subsidies could cause a repeat here of the riots that have consumed Kenya over tax and fuel hikes.  Since the beginning of April, Nigeria’s state-run NNPC oil firm has doubled its debt to gasoline suppliers as a result of the widening gap between subsidized prices at the pump and international market prices, Reuters…