The Federal Government on Thursday suspended the planned removal of subsidy on petroleum products.
According to the Vanguard, this was disclosed by the Minster of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the National Executive Council meeting.
Premium Politics reported that the NEC meeting was chaired by the Vic President, Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday.
She explained that the subsidy will most likely be removed in June because the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, and the 2023 budget guaranteed a subsidy until June, so any delay may necessitate amending the PIA and the budget provision.
She did, however, state that there is no timeframe for the elimination of subsidies and that the future administration will decide when it is possible to do so.
Prior to this development, a recent Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative report submitted to the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the fuel subsidy regime from 2013 to 2022, showed that fuel subsidy has jumped from N316.7 billion in 2015 to well over N2.565 trillion in 2023.
The Buhari administration allocated N3.6 trillion for subsidies from January to June 2023, when it is slated to be phased off. However, Nigeria has suffered with mounting budget deficits, primarily as a result of increased fuel subsidy figures.
Buhari stated last year, while presenting the 2023 budget to the National Assembly, that the subsidy regime must end for the country’s economy to thrive. He stressed that the subsidy regime must be ended in order to save the nation’s economy from yearly bleedings.
