The United States of America has said that the Federal Government, like other administrations, must make tough choices regarding the benefits accruing from fuel subsidy removal and citizens’ welfare.
The US government said the costs and opportunities are considerable while acknowledging the difficulty in removing fuel subsidies by the FG.
The United States Embassy in Abuja said this on Friday in response to an inquiry by our correspondent.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had planned to stop fuel subsidies by June but it extended the payment by 18 months following stiff opposition to the planned subsidy removal by the organised labour and civil society groups.
As a result of this, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation presented a bill of N3trn to the Federal Executive Council as the cost of fuel subsidy for 2022.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Ahmed, revealed this after the FEC meeting considered the request to provide additional funding for the government to meet incremental fuel subsidy payment in the 2022 budget.
She noted that only N44bn was available in the 2022 budget to pay for fuel subsidies from January to June.
The minister also explained that with the harsh economic realities on the ground and the dearth of structures to support subsidy removal, the NNPC requested N3tn from the Ministry of Finance for 2022.
