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Business News of Thursday, 5 January 2023

Source: dmarketforces.com

FG to spend N3.4trn on petrol subsidy in next 6-month

Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning

Nigeria will continue to support petrol subsidy until mid-2023 as federal government indicates it has set aside N3.36 trillion to keep to its agreed petrol pump price, finance minister indicates on Wednesday.

According to the Zainab Ahmed, finance minister, some 41% of about N12.9 trillion spending up till November, 2022 was used to service the nation’s debt. The growth starved Africa’s largest economy expended N1.8 trillion on capital projects while the remains was expended on recurrent expenditure.

Toward the year end, Federal government has spent 75% of its 2022 budget amidst worsening macroeconomic condition, and increased insecurity that has driven food prices upward.

President Muhammadu Buhari has shifted the implementation of subsidy removal as contain in petroleum industry act signed into law in 2022 to mid-year of 2023. As such, the final implementation will be executed by the income administration as Buhari tenure ends on May, 29 of the year.

In the first nine month in year 2022, Nigeria paid N2.91 trillion for petrol subsidy, according to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) limited, though Nigerians paid higher for petrol motor spirit across filling stations as marketers claimed that landing costs and logistics have increased significantly.

Yesterday, Buhari also signed the 2023 budget valued at N21.83 trillion into law after National Assembly made an upward adjustment and raised the oil price assumption.

“Petrol subsidy will remain up to mid-2023 based on the 18-month extension announced early 2022,” Ahmed said.