FRI, APRIL. 28 2023-theGBJournal|Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed said Thursday following the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja, that the National Economic Council (NEC), discussed the issue of fuel subsidy removal and agreed that the timing for the removal of the subsidy should not be now.
She said the Council agreed to continue with all of the preparation works that need to be done and that the preparation work has to be done in consultation with the states and other key stakeholders, including representatives of the incoming administration.
The Federal Government had set June 2023 as deadline for the removal of the contentious fuel subsidy but the Minister’s statement suggests that there is now a possibility that the deadline date will be extended.
“So, we will be working together with representatives of the state, we will have a plan that we will start working on putting the building blocks towards the eventual removal of the fuel subsidy,” Mrs Zainab said.
The Minister also reiterated FG’s stand on fuel subsidy removal, saying that the government has concluded every plan for the removal of subsidy on premium motor spirit (petrol) and would not revisit the matter.
It will be recalled that the federal government made no provision for subsidy payment in the 2023 Appropriation Act beyond June. In 2022, the federal government spent N1.4 trillion on for fuel subsidy payment.
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