The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has revealed that the federal government spent at least N15.57 trillion between 2006 and 2023 on the Petrol Motor Spirit(Petrol) subsidy.
NEITI disclosed this recently during the unveiling of its 2022 and 2023 Independent Oil and Gas Industry Reports in Abuja.
The report was unveiled by George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ola Olukoyede, the chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other government officials on Thursday, 267 September, 2024.
According to NEITI’s report, the year with the highest amount paid for fuel subsidy termed as under-recovery and price differentials was N4.714 trillion in 2022.
The report also revealed that the federal government was owed $6.071 billion and N66.4 billion in unpaid revenues from the oil and gas sector as of Jun 2024.
Recall that fuel subsidy had been a subject of controversy despite President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announcing its removal in May 2023.
However, the World Bank had hinted that with the price per liter, Nigerians buy petrol, the product is still subsidized.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo also stated that fuel subsidy is back However, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited(NNPCL) had clarified that the firm only takes care of petrol importation shortfalls between the company and the federation.
In recent times NNPCL has increased fuel prices to N950 and N1, 100 per litre indicating removal products’ subsidy.
The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, recently called on federal government to completely remove fuel subsidies .
His comments come after Dangote Refinery’s petrol commenced distribution into the Nigerian market on September 15, 2024, through NNPCL.
While Dangote push for complete fuel subsidy removal which will see fuel rise above N1,100 per liter, Nigerians have continued over high energy costs.
Meanwhile, a recent report by the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria, MEMAN on Thursday revealed that the landing cost of Petrol import dropped to N981.08 Per litre in September 2024 from N1,130 in July.
