Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva has cleared the air on speculations surrounding the removal of fuel subsidies by the Federal Government.
He made this clarification on Monday, January 24 during an interview on Channels TV, adding that the federal government plans to complete consultations before coming out with a clear policy direction on fuel subsidy removal.
Sylva said, “I will tell you categorically that at this moment, the complete removal of subsidy is not on our plate at all.
“The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not in support of removing subsidy at this time.”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed said there won’t be any removal of fuel subsidy anytime soon; as a result of perceived difficulties associated with it.
Ahmed stated this at an interactive meeting with the Senate President, Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, and other principal officers of the Senate on Monday.
According to the Minister, the federal government was initially looking at the removal of fuel subsidy from July this year; after which they made provisions in the 2022 budget to cushion the effect; but noted that the timing has become a huge challenge.
The disclosure comes after concern was raised by the Senate President; who pointed out that there should be caution in the event of subsidy removal; so as not to deepen the economic hardships of Nigerians.
Lawan said he visited President Muhammadu Buhari over plans to remove fuel subsidy; and so many factors were taken into consideration; but with a view to ensuring that the citizens are not at the receiving end.
