FG finally admits paying fuel subsidy

The federal government has finally admitted that Nigeria is projected to spend up to N5.4 trillion on oil subsidies in 2024.

 This comes after months of repeated denials by government officials who insisted there were no subsidies. 

The revelation came during a presentation by Wale Edun, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy on an Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan (ASAP), designed to address key challenges affecting the reform initiatives and stimulate development in various sectors of the economy.

A draft copy report of the Accelerated Stabilization and Advancement Plan (ASAP) presented to President Tinubu by the finance minister, Wale Edun, on Tuesday, June 4, showed that the estimated expenditure on fuel subsidy for 2024 is N5.4 trillion, a sum of N1.8 trillion more than the amount spent in 2023. The ASAP was designed to address key challenges affecting the reform initiatives and stimulate development in various sectors of the economy.

“At current rates, expenditure on fuel subsidy is projected to reach ₦5.4 trillion by the end of 2024. This compares unfavourably with ₦3.6 trillion in 2023 and ₦2.0 trillion in 2022,” a draft copy of the ASAP presented by Edun said.

Previously, the Tinubu-led government had maintained that it would no longer subsidise fuel costs. 

In December, the government said contrary to the claim by the World Bank that the government is still paying subsidy on petrol, the era of petrol subsidy is “gone for good”. Speaking in an interview on Channels TV, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, had said President Tinubu made it clear from his first day in office that his government would not sustain the payment of subsidy on petrol.

The minister said the subsidy removal had translated to increased revenue accruing to the federation account. 

In April, the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El Rufai, said the federal government was spending more on petrol subsidy than before.