Decision On Petrol Subsidy Removal To Come In June — NEC

A decision on the removal of the subsidy on petroleum will be made in June when the provision for its payment in the 2022 budget expires, the National Economic Council (NEC), has disclosed.

The council chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo met at the presidential villa, Abuja, on Thursday, affirming that since the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited is now an limited liability company, it must be run differently.

Fielding questions while briefing correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, the governor of Nasarawa state, Abdullahi Sule said it was understandable that the provision for the payment of the subsidy is made in the 2022 budget only until June.

Joined at the post-NEC press briefing by his Edo State counterpart, Godwin Obaseki, the Nasarawa governor stated that any decision on the removal of subsidy will be taken after the budget provision runs its course in June.

He asserted even though NEC has been having conservation on the matter, it was yet to take a position on it.

Also responding to questions, Obaseki pointed out that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which sells for N162-165 per litre in Nigeria, sells a hundred per cent higher in other countries.

He noted that the Federal Government was spending about N2 trillion on petroleum subsidy, an amount, he said could have been used for other purposes.

According to him, the NEC, therefore, wondered whether that should be allowed to continue in a situation where he observed only two-thirds of the states of the federation consume the subsidy.