The Federal Government on Monday stressed that it can no longer sustain the subsidy on petrol, disclosing that the ‘unsustainable’ policy gulped N10.413 trillion in the last 14 years, from 2006 to 2019.
The Federal Government early September increased the pump price of petrol to N151.56 per litre, up from N148, which has since sparked outrage from Nigerians.
Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, while briefing newsmen in Abuja, described the angry reactions that have greeted the increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) as unnecessary and totally mischievous.
The minister argued that the cost of fuel subsidy at an average of N743.8 billion per annum is too high and unsustainable. He also said Nigeria is witnessing a hike in fuel price as a result of the deregulation of PMS prices in March 2020.
“The effect of deregulation is that PMS prices will change with changes in global oil prices. This means quite regrettably that as oil prices recover, there will be some increases in PMS prices. This is what has happened now,” he said...for further reading, click on https://businessday.ng/energy/oilandgas/article/unsustainable-fuel-subsidy-gulped-over-n10trn-in-14-years-fg/
Source: BusinessDay Newspaper Sept 7, 2020.