AfriPulse
Barely three months to the May deadline for the discontinuation of petrol subsidy, the Federal Government, yesterday, said it was yet to harmonise positions of various interest groups on palliative measures for citizens.
The minister of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, assured Nigerians that the federal government would remove the petrol subsidy before the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure on May 29.
Ahmed attributed the delay in removal of the subsidy, as provided for in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, to the 2023 general election and the forthcoming national population census.
The government had earmarked N3.35 trillion on petrol subsidies from January till June 2023, under its 2022 to 2023 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework.
The government had also promised it would set in place palliatives to ameliorate the impact on the poor and most vulnerable in the society once it hands off fuel subsidy.
But Clement Agba, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning said the committee, headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, had been working with the national economic council (NEC) for over a year on palliatives that will help to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal.
Membership of the NEC comprises the 36 state governors, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other co-opted government officials.
However, he said the suggestions from the federal government and the governors were yet to be unified.
He explained that the situation requires time as it would affect the entire nation, adding that the committees wanted to ensure that every citizen was carried along.
Agba said the ministry of petroleum resources and other relevant agencies have also been working on the issue.
“For over a year plus now, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has been leading a committee working on this and the National Economic Council also has a committee that has also been working on this,” he said.
“So, the stage that we are in now is how to finalize the suggestions that have come out from both the federal government and the governors’ side. Like you know, it is something that is going to affect the entire nation.
“They will just have to ensure that everyone is carried along, that is both the federal and subnational governments.”
Agba said the council also approved Nigeria agenda 2050 which aims to make Nigeria a high-income economy.
He said the initiative is designed to transform the country into an upper-middle income country and subsequently to the status of high-income countries.
The plan aims to fully engage all resources, reduce poverty, as well as achieve social and economic stability.
Agba explained that the “Nigeria Agenda 2050 projects annual average real GDP growth of 7.0 percent”.
Source: TheStreetJournal | Read More from Thestreetjournal.org
