Subsidy Removal: FG Finalises Discussions On Palliatives, Yet To Harmonize Ahead Of June Deadline

Barely three months to the expiration of the June deadline to commence discontinuation of petrol subsidy, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba has stated that the committees are still working to harmonize discussions on palliative measures.

Addressing State House Correspondents on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council meeting, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, the minister reminded that a committee led by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo as well as the National economic council by Governors has been working on resolving the issue for over a year now.

Over the intervening period, Agba stated that committees are yet to harmonize, explaining that it is a situation that requires time because it would affect the entire nation and according to him, they want to ensure that everyone is carried along.

“For over a year plus now, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has been leading a committee working on this and the National Economic Council also has a committee that has also been working on this,” Agba stated.

“So, the stage that we are in now is how to finalize the suggestions that have come out from both the federal government and the governors’ side. As you know, it is something that is going to affect the entire nation.

“They will just have to ensure that everyone is carried along, that is both the federal and subnational governments.”

The Council also approved the Nigeria Agenda 2050, a plan aimed at increasing real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth by seven per cent, creating N165 million jobs and reducing the number of people living in poverty to 2.1 million in 2050.

This is coming about 29 months after President Buhari inaugurated the National Steering Committee for the preparation of the Medium-Term National Development Plan 2021 to 2025 and Nigeria Agenda 2050.

The overall objective is to take Nigeria through to an Upper Middle-Income Country and subsequently to the status of a High-Income country by 2050.

Similarly, the Council further approved N2.8 billion for the procurement of software for the National population commission for the conduct of the national census in May 2023.