The Federal government, after several denials, has finallyclaimed that fuel subsidy would gulp N5.4 trillion in 2024, noting that it has completely deregulated the sector.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, disclosed this in a recent presentation of the Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan, ASAP report.
He said the ASAP report was designed to address key challenges affecting the reform initiatives and stimulate development in various sectors of the economy.
“At current rates, expenditure on fuel subsidy is projected to reach N5.4 trillion by the end of 2024. This compares unfavourably with N3.6 trillion in 2023 and N2.0 trillion in 2022,” a draft copy of the ASAP presented by Edun said.
Meanwhile, the, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri at a recent ministerial briefing to mark President Bola Tinubu’s anniversary, insisted that fuel subsidy has been completely removed.
“I can confirm to you that subsidy is gone; officially, there is no subsidy; I want to make it clear that there is no subsidy in the country today”, he claimed.
In a contrary view, President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, in April, revealed that the government is currently applying quasi-subsidy on fuel.
Tinubu, during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, has announced the total removal of subsidy on fuel, leading to the astronomical increase in petrol price, with a concomitant effect on all sectors of the national economy.
Since then, the pump price of fuel has continued to surge, reaching an average of N702 per litre in April 2024.
The ripple effect of fuel subsidy and the Naira floating policy in June last year saw Nigeria’s headline and food inflation skyrocket to 33.69 percent and 40.53 in April 2024.
