Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, is maintaining that the Federal Government is determined to remove subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol.
Zainab, who disclosed this while briefing journalists after the public presentation of the 2022 budget, added that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is expected to chair a panel with the Nigeria Labour Congress and other stakeholders to consider the proposed N5,000 transport palliative and other options aimed at ameliorating the effects of the planned subsidy removal on Nigerians.
She further pointed out that the Federal Government still stands on complying with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and fully deregulate prices of petroleum products.
In her words, “The PIA 2021 has made a provision that indicates that all by-products’ prices will be deregulated, and so far we have been able to deregulate kerosene prices and diesel prices.
“The only product that is still not deregulated is PMS, so we are planning to comply with the law because the PIA is an Act of the National Assembly and a law that we all have a responsibility to abide by.”
On the proposed N5,000 transport grant, the minister said the initiative was still at the proposal stage, adding that it was being weighed alongside other proposals aimed at reducing the impact of the subsidy removal on Nigerians.
The panel, which will be chaired by the Vice President and expected to review these proposals in order to choose the preferable, would resume deliberations after the New Year holiday to engage the NLC and accept its inputs.
Recall that the earlier announcement of the fuel Subsidy Removal by this year, had sparked off a number of criticisms especially residents, for fear of the harsh economic consequences it is speculated to leave on citizens.Â
