FG halts fuel subsidy removal

The National Economic Council said on Thursday in Abuja that it has decided that the petrol subsidy should "not be removed" as originally anticipated for June 2023.

This was revealed to State House reporters by Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, just after the final Council meeting, which was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and held in the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The Council, according to Ahmed, agreed that further debate on the matter was necessary, and he added that the FG, as well as the states and representatives of the new administration, need more preparation. 

She said, “Council agreed that the timing of the removal of fuel subsidy should not be now. But that we should continue with all of the preparatory works that need to be done and that this preparatory has to be done in consultation with the states and other key stakeholders including representatives of the incoming administration.

“Council agreed that the fuel subsidy must be removed earlier rather than later because it is not sustainable. We cannot afford it anymore. But 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 fuel subsidy that needs to be planned for and subsequently put in place. But also what needs to be done to support the people that will be most affected as a result of the removal.” 

Between now and June 2023, Ahmed said, the FG would collaborate with state officials. 

“We have a plan that we will start working on, putting the building blocks towards the eventual removal of the first subsidy. 

“And if I may remind this forum that the budget for 2023 has a provision for fuel subsidy only up to June 2023 and also the Petroleum Industry Act has a provision that requires that all petroleum products must be deregulated 18 months after the effective date of the PMS removal and that that period is also up to June 2020,” the minister explained.