- The Federal Government has suspended the move to implement fuel subsidy removal.
- The fuel subsidy removal was slated to take effect from July 1, 2022.
- It plans to amend the 2022 budget.
The Federal Government (FG) has suspended the fuel subsidy removal, which was slated to take effect from July 1, 2022. It plans to amend the 2022 Appropriation Act to accommodate the new change. The suspension followed the pressure mounted by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which threatened to embark on a nationwide protest from January 27, 2022. In the 2022 budget signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, the provision of petrol subsidy was till June 30, but NLC argues that fuel subsidy removal at this period of high inflation would be resisted.
In a meeting with lawmakers on Monday, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed emphasised that due to ongoing consultations, it was agreed that the proposed removal of fuel subsidy be suspended. “Provision was made in the 2022 budget for subsidy payment from January till June. That suggested that from July, there would be no subsidy. The provision was made a sequel to the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act which indicated that all petroleum products would be deregulated. However, after the budget was passed, we had consultations with a number of stakeholders and it became clear that the timing was problematic.”
“We, therefore, need to return to the National Assembly to now amend the budget and make additional provision for the subsidy from July 22 to whatever period that we agreed was suitable for the commencement of the total removal,” the Minister informed the lawmakers.
Present at the meeting were the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva; the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr Mele Kyari; among others.