Toba Owojaiye reporting
Benin City, Edo state
In a startling revelation, the Nigerian government has acknowledged that fuel subsidy expenditures are set to balloon to a staggering N5.4 trillion in 2024, contradicting earlier claims of complete deregulation.
Truth Live News gathered that Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, disclosed this during a recent presentation of the Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan (ASAP) report, aimed at tackling critical issues hindering reform initiatives and fostering growth across various economic sectors.
According to a draft copy of the ASAP report, Edun outlined the alarming trajectory of fuel subsidy costs, stating, “At current rates, expenditure on fuel subsidy is projected to reach N5.4 trillion by the end of 2024. This compares unfavorably with N3.6 trillion in 2023 and N2.0 trillion in 2022.”
The admission comes amidst conflicting assertions within the government regarding the status of fuel subsidy. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Oil, Heineken Lokpobiri, asserted during a recent ministerial briefing commemorating President Bola Tinubu’s anniversary that fuel subsidy had been completely abolished. “I can confirm to you that subsidy is gone; officially, there is no subsidy; I want to make it clear that there is no subsidy in the country today,” he declared.
However, this assertion stands in contrast to earlier remarks by President of the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, who disclosed in April that the government was still applying a quasi-subsidy on fuel. It is noteworthy that Tinubu’s declaration of the demise of fuel subsidy in June 2023 paved the way for policy changes, resulting in a sharp hike in fuel pump prices from N250 per litre to over N500. Subsequently, fuel prices have continued to surge, reaching an average of N702 per litre in April 2024.
The combined impact of fuel subsidy and the Naira floating policy implemented in June of the previous year has been devastating, with Nigeria experiencing headline and food inflation rates skyrocketing to 33.69 percent and 40.53 percent respectively by April 2024.