Subsidy Removal: Shettima, 36 Govs In NEC Meeting

The National Economic Council (NEC) meeting is being held at the Council Chambers of the State House in Abuja on Thursday.

The meeting, which is being chaired by the Vice President Kashim Shettima, has in attendance governors of the 36 states of the Federation, the Director General of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, as well as stakeholders from the World Bank and other agencies of government.

This is second meeting of the Council and it is expected to deliberate on the reviewed palliative package for Nigerians following the removal of petrol subsidy and the recent hike in petrol prices to up to N617/litre as a result of market forces.

President Bola Tinubu had unveiled his administration’s plan for a monthly N8,000 transfer to 12 million of the poorest households in the country for six months, in a bid to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy.

The plan was contained in a letter read last Thursday on the floor of the House of Representatives regarding the $800 million loan request of the previous Muhammadu Buhari administration for a social safety net programme.

However, following a series of criticisms from the Organised Labour, Tinubu ordered a review of the proposed palliative.

Among other issues, the review by the President should be top on the NEC meeting agenda on Thursday.

The media have been excused and the meeting is in a closed door session. It is hoped that resolutions from the meeting will be communicated to the media afterwards.