"N600/Litre": NNPC Welcomes FG’s Decision to Remove Fuel Subsidy, Says There is Enough Supply in Stock
- The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has hailed the decision of President Tinubu to remove the petrol subsidy
- NNPC said the subsidy removal is a welcomed development because it has been harming its operations
- However, Nigerians reported that they bought a litre of petrol for about N600 on Tuesday, May 30, 2023
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has welcomed President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy.
The NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, stated during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, May 29, 2023, that the company is pleased with the decision of the President to end the petrol subsidy in Nigeria.
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Petrol subsidy hurting NNPC operations
Kyari said:
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“We welcome the decision of the President to announce that the subsidy on PMS is over, and this has been a major challenge for NNPC’s continued operations. We have been funding subsidy from the cash flow of the NNPC since the government cannot defer the subsidy cost due to the corporation.”
According to Kyari, petrol subsidy removal will free up funds to make it commercially viable for Nigeria’s economy.
“And we believe that this will be able to free resources for the NNPC to continue to do the great works that this company will do for our country, and it will allow us to function as a very commercial entity, and we welcome this development,” Kyari said.
BusinessDay reports that Kyari assured Nigerians of petroleum product supplies, saying the company has enough stock for the country.
He asked Nigerians not to panic as there is enough petrol in the country, stating that there will be potential changes in the prices of petrol.
He promised that normalcy in the supply chain would be restored as soon as possible.
Nigerians buy petrol for N600/litre
However, Nigerians have reacted to the hike in petrol prices across the country.
They reported buying a litre of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol for N600 per litre or higher in some places.
The current scarcity is triggered by the announcement of Tinubu at his inauguration on Monday, May 29, 2023, that the petrol subsidy ‘is gone’ as there is no provision for it in the 2023 budget.
He said funds for the subsidy would be rechanneled to infrastructure development in the country.
The scarcity has also caused a spike in the cost of transportation across the country, with commuters trekking to their various workplaces.
Nigerians berate Tinubu’s subsidy removal, say Dangote won’t subsidise petrol for Nigeria
Legit.ng reported that the petrol subsidy removal announced by President Bola Tinubu on the day of his inauguration had drawn backlash from Nigerians.
Nigerians have said the subsidy removal was thoughtless and adequate plans had yet to be put in place by the government to cushion the effect of the removal.
Seun Onigbinde, the co-founder of BudgIT, a Nigerian civic platform, said on Twitter that the government could not remove subsidies without offering to reduce the waste in government.
Source: Legit.ng
