Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), says petrol subsidy has been scrapped but the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited can intervene occasionally.
On May 29, 2023, President Bola Tinubu said the petrol
subsidy regime was over — a declaration that pushed petrol costs significantly
higher.
Speaking on Wednesday during an interview on Channels
Television to mark Tinubu’s one year in office, Lokpobiri said the petrol
subsidy regime has been rightly exited.
He, however, said the president’s statement was
misunderstood because provision was not made for petrol subsidy in the 2023
budget by the previous administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“As the President has rightly said the day he was sworn in,
the subsidy is gone. The president was misunderstood clearly,” the minister
said.
“The last government, Buhari’s government did not make any
provision for subsidy in the 2023 budget. Whether anybody is saying it or not,
the subsidy was gone. What the president in his characteristic style was
speaking truth to power.”
According to the minister, what Tinubu meant was that in the
2023 budget, “there is no provision for subsidy, so subsidy is gone”.
“And I can reconfirm to you that subsidy is gone, but there
could be strategic intervention from time to time. Officially, subsidy is
gone,” he said.
Asked what he meant by strategic intervention, Lokpobiri
said in section 64 (m) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the Nigerian
National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, as a national oil company, also has
a legal obligation to intervene from time to time.
According to the minister, this is because the NNPC is the
last resort of the country that ensures there is availability and affordability
of products.
Lokpobiri thanked Tinubu for having the courage to make the
declaration on petrol subsidy.
On January 3, NNPC denied the return of petrol subsidy,
saying it had been removed entirely.
However, on April 15, Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of
Kaduna state, said the federal government is spending more on petrol subsidy
than before.
Also, on April 16, Gabriel Ogbechie, chief executive officer
(CEO) of Rainoil Limited, said the federal government now spends N600 billion
monthly on petrol subsidy.
On August 15, 2023, TheCable reported Tinubu is considering
a “temporary subsidy” on petrol as crude oil prices and foreign exchange rates
continued to soar.
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