Tinubu-led govt returns fuel subsidy, projects N5.4trn in 2024
The federal government has projected N5.4 trillion in 2024 for fuel subsidy.
According to reports, the figure is against the N3.6 trillion budgeted for the same intervention in 2023.
A draft copy report of the Accelerated Stabilization and Advancement Plan (ASAP) presented to President Tinubu by the finance minister, Wale Edun, on Tuesday, showed that the estimated expenditure on fuel subsidy for 2024 is N5.4 trillion, a sum of N1.8 trillion more than the amount spent in 2023.
A draft copy of the ASAP presented by Edun said, “At current rates, expenditure on fuel subsidy is projected to reach ₦5.4 trillion by the end of 2024. This compares unfavourably with ₦3.6 trillion in 2023 and ₦2.0 trillion in 2022.”
It would be recalled that Tinubu, during his inauguration as the president, said the era of fuel subsidy.
Meanwhile, in December, the government said contrary to the claim by the World Bank that the government is still paying subsidy on petrol, the era of petrol subsidy is “gone for good”.
However, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, while speaking in an interview on Channels TV, said President Tinubu made it clear from his first day in office that his government would not sustain the payment of subsidy on petrol, adding that the subsidy removal had translated to increased revenue accruing to the federation account.
In April, the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El Rufai, said the federal government was spending more on petrol subsidy than before.
