One year after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sensationally declared an end to oil subsidies, the federal government admitted yesterday that it will spend up to N5.4 trillion on oil subsidies in 2024,leadership reports.
The president made his declaration during his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023.
Following the announcement, the price of petrol surged from N194 per litre to over N600 due to market forces.
Despite fluctuations in the international price of crude, the price of petrol has since stabilized, leading many to suspect that the government is subsidizing the product.
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For months, government officials denied this, insisting that subsidy payments had ceased.
The revelation came during a presentation by Wale Edun, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, in an Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan (ASAP) aimed at addressing key challenges and stimulating development in various sectors.
“At current rates, expenditure on fuel subsidy is projected to reach N5.4 trillion by the end of 2024, compared to N3.6 trillion in 2023 and N2.0 trillion in 2022,” according to a draft copy of the ASAP presented by Edun.
The federal government had previously claimed it would no longer subsidize fuel costs, opting instead for a deregulation policy.
“As far as I’m concerned, the President removed the subsidy and it remains removed till today. Anybody who is saying that subsidy is being paid, it is left for the person to bring the facts and then we will talk about them,” Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (Oil), said in April. The draft copy of the ASAP presented to the president was accompanied by an Executive Order to support the plan.
It revealed that the federal government is still supporting downstream consumption.
