One year after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration on May 29, 2023 inauguration that ‘fuel subsidy is gone,’ his government has finally admitted to reverting to the payment of the same subsidy.
According to the federal government, already, payment of fuel subsidy is projected to gulp about N5.4 trillion in 2024, against the N3.6 trillion budgeted for the same intervention in 2023, N1.8 trillion more than the amount spent in 2023.
A draft copy report of the Accelerated Stabilization and Advancement Plan (ASAP) presented to President Tinubu by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, on Tuesday said: “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.”
The ASAP was designed to address key challenges affecting the reform initiatives and stimulate development in various sectors of the economy.
Until the ASAP report, the government of President Tinubu had maintained that it 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, former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El Rufai, said the federal government was spending more on petrol subsidy than before.
