The Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) has asked President Bola Tinubu’s administration to review the removal of subsidy in the interest of the people.
During his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, President Tinubu declared an end to the subsidy era, which immediately pushed up the prices of premium motor spirit, otherwise known as petrol.
But there have been recent claims that the government has quietly returned fuel subsidy to keep its prices at around N600 per litre.
Human rights lawyer and the Chair of ASCAB, Femi Falana (SAN), in a statement on Sunday, said, “It would be recalled that after the Muhammadu Buhari administration announced that it had removed subsidy on petrol, it turned round to spend N11 trillion on the so called “under recovery” within a period of 8 years.
“Therefore, instead of urging Nigerians to continue to endure the hardship caused by the removal of subsidies on petrol, the Bola Tinubu administration. If the federal government is spending as much as N1 trillion on fuel subsidy per month, it is high time the policy was reviewed in the interest of the Nigerian people.”
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Recounting the recent events surrounding the fuel subsidy removal, he said, “During his inauguration on May 29, 2003, President Bola Tinubu announced the end of fuel subsidy and total deregulation of petroleum products. But at the recently concluded Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) held in Abuja, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited, Mr. Robert Dickerman revealed that the Nigerian Government still pays N1 trillion every month for petrol subsidy.
“Mr. Dickerman who made the disclosure while participating in a panel discussion disclosed that a significant subsidy is still in place, adding that this has contributed to the affordable price of the product and potentially fueling smuggling activities to neighbouring countries.
“Before the disclosure, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked the federal government to completely phase out petrol and electricity subsidies in the country. The IMF made the recommendation while advising Nigeria on pathways to restoring macroeconomic stability in its ‘Post Financing Assessment (PFA)’ report.
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“On its own part, the World Bank has alleged partial return of fuel subsidy in a report titled, ‘Turning The Corner (From Reforms and Renewed Hope to Results)” which was presented in Abuja last December. In justifying its claim then, the World Bank said that based on the official exchange rate then, the petrol should sell for around N750 per litre and not the N650 currently being paid by Nigerians.
“Curiously, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited has not deemed it fit to deny the serious allegation that fuel subsidy has been restored. Since there is no provision for fuel subsidy in the 2023 and 2024 Appropriation Acts the federal government should, without any further delay, confirm or deny the serious allegation and end the opacity surrounding the importation of fuel from foreign countries.”
