NNPC spends N4.4 trln on fuel subsidy last year, fails to remit revenue to govt
No approval for fuel price increases, as petroleum minister blames mischief makers for hike.
Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limiteds (NNPC) spent N4.39 trillion on a petrol subsidy last year, the latest data from the state-owned firm showed on Friday, a cost the government has blamed for dwindling public finances.
NNPC did not remit funds to federal accounts last year, its data showed, leaving a hole in public finances at a time when the government has been warning that low revenues and large deficits left it unable to stimulate the economy.
Successive governments in Nigeria have tried and failed to remove or cut the subsidy, a politically sensitive issue in the country of 200 million people.
Nigeria imports nearly all its refined fuels because local refineries were shut due to years of neglect.
Oil production, which has started to recover, has been throttled by crude theft and pipeline vandalism, which means Nigeria is spending more on fuel imports than it is getting from crude oil production.
Finance minister Zainab Ahmed has said the country will keep its costly but popular petrol subsidy until mid-2023 and set aside N3.36 trillion to spend on it.
No approval for fuel price increases, as petroleum minister blames mischief makers for hike
President Mohammadu Buhari has not approved any increase in the pump price of fuel, despite the adjustment in prices by both independent and major petrol marketers across the country.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) mega-filling stations in Lagos and some other major marketers had adjusted their pump prices to N184 and N185 per liter on Thursday.
However, the minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, in a statement in Abuja on Friday, said President Muhammadu Buhari had not approved any price increase for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly called petrol.
“There is no reason for President Muhammadu Buhari to renege on his earlier promise not to approve any increase in the price of PMS at this time.
“Mr. President is sensitive to the plight of the ordinary Nigerian and has said repeatedly that he understands the challenges of the ordinary Nigerian and would not want to cause untold hardship for the electorate,” Sylva was quoted as saying by his spokesman, Horatius Egua.
“Government will not approve any increase of PMS secretly without due consultations with the relevant stakeholders. The President has not directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority or any agency for that matter to increase the price of fuel.
“This is not the time for any increase in the pump price of PMS.”
He said what was playing out was the handiwork of mischief makers and those planning to discredit the achievements of the President in the oil and gas sector of the economy.
“I appeal to Nigerians to remain calm and law-abiding as the government is working hard to bring normalcy to fuel supply and distribution in the country,” the minister stated.
Oil marketers had earlier confirmed the increase in petrol price by N10, stating that this was one of the reasons why major marketers were dispensing the commodity at higher rates currently.
Global Financial Digest