The removal of petrol subsidy will no longer be immediate, Vanguard gathered authoritatively last night.
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had said in his inauguration speech Monday that the subsidy was gone, as it was not provided for in the 2023 budget.
But sources told Vanguard yesterday that implementation of the removal of subsidy would commence post-June.
The need to clarify issues, sources told Vanguard, informed the meeting the President had with the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mr. Mele Kyari, in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.
It was learned that the essence of the meeting was to engage labour anytime from today to ensure the seamless removal of the subsidy.
A source said one of the fallouts of the meeting was for NNPCL to set up a template that would ensure that no toxic fuel was imported into the country and also create a benchmark for price.
The clarification came as scarcity of the product ground activities in major cities nationwide yesterday.
Yesterday, fuel queues emerged in many petrol stations as marketers who started hoarding fuel sold the product for as high as N600 per litre and transporters hiked fares.
From the South-West to the South-East, South-South to North-West and other zones of the country, it was tales of woe and fuel crisis gathered steam.
Tinubu resumes at Aso Rock, meets with Emefiele, Kyari
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu yesterday met with the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and the Group Chief Executive Officer, of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mr. Mele Kyari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on the matter.
This was the first official assignment by the President after his inauguration as the 16th president of the country at Eagle Square, Abuja
He arrived at the forecourt of the State House at about 2:30 pm through the quarter guard gate, which is his official entrance gate and was received by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, the Permanent Secretary, State House, Tijjani Umar, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and the out-going Director of Protocol, DOP, Emefiele and Kyari, among others.
Although the agenda of the meeting was not made public, it may be in connection with the removal of fuel subsidies and the attendant fuel scarcity.
It was learned that the issue of unification of foreign exchange, and recent naira redesign was also discussed.
NNPCL backs Tinubu on petrol subsidy removal
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has backed the removal of subsidy on petrol.
The Group CEO of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, said in Abuja that payments for petrol subsidy had been a huge burden on the company’s cash flow, disclosing that the Federal Government is owing the company N2.8 trillion it paid on petrol subsidy.
NNPC Limited was saddled with the payments for subsidy by former President Muhammadu Buhari with the company carrying the cost in its books as petrol under-recovery.
The company however deducts the cost from the revenue due to the Federation Accounts from the sales of Federation Crude Oil.
Speaking to journalists, Kyari said the NNPC Limited “welcomes the decision of Mr. President to announce that the subsidy on PMS (premium motor spirit) is over. This has been a major challenge for NNPC continued operations. We have been funding the subsidy from the cash flow of NNPC since the government is unable to defray the cost of the subsidy that is due to the corporation.
“We believe that this will free up resources for the NNPC to do the great work that this company is doing for our country and it allows us to continue to operate as a commercial entity”.
While assuring consumers that NNPC has enough stock of petrol in the supply system, he appealed the potential change in pump should not be enough reason for people to engage in panic-buying.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive of Nigerian Mainstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, Faruk Ahmed, said that with the removal of subsidy, there would be no price cap on the sale of petroleum products in the country.
Ahmed said President Tinubu’s pronouncement in his inaugural speech on the removal of subsidy was in line with the law.
He said that the Federal Government has not been financing subsidies since 2022, adding, “the reality today is that the government cannot afford it.”
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