By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Nigeria’s National Economic Council (NEC) has announced the suspension of the planned removal of subsidy on petroleum, failing in its repeated promise to end the extra cost bore by the government for the shipment of imported fuel before the end of President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
This comes barely three weeks after the federal government announced the receipt of $800 million from the World Bank as the first tranche of palliatives to be disbursed through cash transfers to about 50 million Nigerians, who belong to the most vulnerable category in the society, who are most likely to be affected by the removal of petroleum subsidy.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed who spoke on Thursday after the NEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said despite this suspension, all of the preparatory works should continue in consultation with the states and other key stakeholders, including representatives of the incoming administration.
The Buhari-led government winds down May 29, a date it is expected to hand over to president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu who won the Feb. 25 presidential poll amidst controversy.
The Minister said, “Council agreed that the first subsidy must be removed earlier rather than later because it is not sustainable. We cannot afford it anymore. We have to do it in such a way that the impact of the subsidy is as much as possible mitigated on the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
“So, this will require looking at alternatives to the post subsidy that needs to be planned for and subsequently put in place but also what needs to be done to support the people that would be most affected as a result of the removal.
“So, we will be working together with representatives of the state, we will have a plan that we will start working on putting the building blocks towards the eventual removal of the fuel subsidy.
“If I May remind the forum, that the budget for 2023 has provision for subsidy only up to June 2023 and also the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has a provision that requires that all petroleum products must be deregulated 18 months after the effective date of the PMs removal and that period is also up to June 2023.”
