One of the government’s official abuse avenue of the just signed Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) will be to continue fuel subsidy beyond this year. This is the submission of an energy expert, who pleaded anonymity in an interview.
The expert averred that PIA did not recognise any form of subsidy.
However, despite heavy criticisms trailing the country’s monthly expenditure of N150 billion on fuel subsidy, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has foreclosed immediate plans to suspend the price stabilisation initiative. Its Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, stated this in his presentation at an interactive session by the Joint Senate Committee on the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) at the National Assembly in Abuja on Wednesday. Rather, he said the corporation would have to continue with fuel subsidy till 2022 and, as such, has made provisions for it in the 2022 AppropriationBill. ‘‘There is an ongoing process that is engaging members of the organised labour, civil society organisations and many other institutions of government and other critical stakeholders to arrive at a landing on how and when we can exit the subsidy regime to be very precise. He said the government is not sure that it can conclude the process of exiting the subsidy regime before the end of 2021 or early 2022, hence the provision of fuel subsidy in the 2022 Appropriation. Stakeholders have faulted the N150 billion spent monthly on fuel subsidy, saying it was illegal because there was no provision for such in the 2021 Budget.
