Grace Omachoko
The administration of President Bola Tinubu has been accused of secretly reintroducing fuel subsidies in Nigeria, aimed at stabilizing petrol prices.
The accusation surfaced in a statement issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the weekend.
Recalling President Tinubu’s inauguration speech on May 29, 2023, where he famously declared an end to the fuel subsidy regime, the president has consistently argued that subsidy payments burden the nation’s economy, benefiting only a select few.
However, the decision led to an immediate surge in petrol prices, soaring from around N187/litre to N300, N400, and beyond, with most filling stations currently selling above N600/litre. This price hike has cascaded into sharp increases in the cost of other commodities and transportation, causing widespread hardship among Nigerians.
The IMF, in its statement following its Executive Board’s Post Financing Assessment with Nigeria, alleged that the Tinubu government has reintroduced subsidies through covert means, by capping fuel prices at retail stations.
Furthermore, the IMF urged the government to cease all subsidy payments on petrol to reallocate funds for essential government functions.
According to ROUNDOFFNEWS, an investigation in September revealed that the federal government disbursed N169.4 billion in August to subsidize petrol prices, maintaining them at N620 per litre.
Documents from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) indicated that the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) remitted $275 million as dividends to Nigeria through NNPC Limited in August 2023. NNPC Limited utilized $220 million (equivalent to N169.4 billion at N770 per dollar) from the dividends to cover the PMS subsidy, while withholding $55 million illegally.