The Minister of state for petroleum, Timipre Sylva, has disclosed that President Buhari has not given a nod to the total removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria as being carried by some sections of media. The Minister made this disclosure during an interview on Channels Television program “Newsnight”. In the last three months, there has been anxiety amongst Nigeria over the pronouncement by the Ministry of Finance that by mid-next year, there will be no fuel subsidy. This has made the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) start preparing the ground for a nationwide protest.
In October 2021, the Federal Government through the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, announced that the government had made only a six-month provision for fuel subsidy for next year.
Mrs. Ahmed in her statement said, “In our 2022 budget, we only factored in subsidy for the first half of the year; the second half of the year, we are looking at complete deregulation of the sector, saving foreign exchange and potentially earning more from the oil and gas industry.”
On the contrary, the Senate president, Ahmed Lawan, shortly after the meeting with President Buhari informed journalists on Tuesday that, he has told the president the feeling and concerns of his constituency members on national critical issues which removal of fuel subsidy was one of them.
Lawan said, his colleagues in the National Assembly were all concerned about the hardship the removal of subsidy will cause to Nigerians.
However, he disclosed that he was glad to inform the newsmen that President Buhari has not directed anyone to remove fuel subsidies.
Meanwhile, the Minister reiterated this claim on live broadcast during an interview with Channel television.
The Minister said, “I will tell you categorically that at this moment, the complete removal of subsidy is not on our plate at all. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not in support of removing subsidy at this time.”
“Of course, we all know that it is a desirable policy direction. Of course, we know that it will have some impacts on the people and that is why we are trying to work out some of those things.
He added, “Until those details are worked out properly with (the organized) labor, and with all the stakeholders in the sector, we will not remove the subsidy. At this moment, it is not on our plate, I can tell you that.
“This is something that needs to be worked out between the Federal Government and the states because this is a federation issue. We are working with the governors to see how we can continue with this policy direction of subsidizing fuel for the foreseeable future.”
Speaking during the 19th Daily Trust Dialogue, former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd), had warned the Federal Government against upward review of the pump price, saying it could plunge more people into poverty.
