No More Pain At The Pump: FG To Explore Alternatives To Fuel Subsidy That Can Spare The Strain

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Nigerian government is considering ways to remove fuel subsidy without negatively impacting the livelihoods of Nigerians, according to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda. He made the statement during a press briefing at the conclusion of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) on Thursday.

Ambassador Aduda revealed that the Nigerian government was committed to removing the subsidy, but could not specify a timeline until all factors had been taken into consideration. The government is determined to ensure that any changes made to fuel subsidy do not have a harsh effect on Nigerians.

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The summit, which had the theme “Global Perspectives for a Sustainable Energy Future”, was declared open by President Muhammadu Buhari, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha.

Ambassador Aduda stated that the Nigerian government was taking the issue of subsidy removal seriously, and was including stakeholders from all sectors of the industry. He also acknowledged the importance of Nigerians in the scheme of things and said the government would ensure that livelihoods were not disrupted in the process.

He explained, “As we speak, we are still taking a very close look at how best to achieve subsidy without disrupting the entire ecosystem of livelihood in Nigeria because that is our responsibility as government. We have to ensure that the buffers are in place and forex is made available for imports. We have to ensure that supply is available for a minimum of six months to make disruption minimal.”

According to Ambassador Aduda, there were several factors that needed to be considered in the process, but the government remained committed to removing the subsidy.

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In order to ensure the recommendations made at the summit were implemented, the 2024 NIES would begin with a session on the fallouts of suggestions made in 2023 as agreed in the communique. The permanent secretary also disclosed that the NEIS recommendations would form part of policy implementation.