…’Nigeria spends N18.69bn daily on subsidy – Finance Minister
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari has set June 2023 as the date for the removal of fuel subsidy.
Ahmed disclosed on Thursday, while appearing before the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the fuel subsidy regime from 2013 to 2022.
This clearly means that the burden of the policy, which has been described by many as a major drain and waste of resources, would be shifted to the next administration from May 29, 2023. Buhari’s new deadline for removing fuel subsidy will be a month after he hands over to his successor in May 2023, leaving the new leader to deal with any backlash and after-effects that may follow the decision.
According to the Finance Minister, the Federal Government spends N18.69bn daily on subsidy, pointing out that if it continues to service the subsidy, the country will spend N6.4 trillion annually. “In 2022, we are carrying the cost of subsidy throughout the whole year”, she stated.
The minister also mentioned that the N3.35 trillion earmarked for servicing subsidies in 2023 until June, as outlined in the approved Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), was being considered by the National Assembly. Mrs. Ahmed defended the decision, stressing that subsidy funds could have been used to support other critical sectors such as social protection, health care, and education. The minister, therefore, suggested a national summit on the subsidy regime.
Recall that last November, the Federal Government said it would remove fuel subsidy by June this year and provide “deserving” Nigerians with a N5, 000 monthly transport allowance, which the NLC described as “comical”. Following the rejection, President Buhari approved an 18-month suspension of the planned removal of fuel subsidy in January.
