Despite claims by President Bola Tinubu that his administration would not spend a dime on petrol subsidy, documents have proven that the federal government spent N169.4 billion on same purpose in August.
The move, according to investigations, is to keep the cost of petrol at N620 despite fluctuations in the price of crude globally.
This is even as analysts have continued to express concern over the current price stagnation despite the worsening naira-dollar exchange rate and international crude price crossing $95 a barrel suggests a return of subsidy.
But document by the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), showed that in August 2023, the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) paid $275m as dividends to Nigeria via NNPC Limited. NNPC Limited used $220m (N169.4 billion at N770/$) out of the $275m to pay for the PMS subsidy. The NNPC, however held back $55m,” according to DailyTrust.
The revelation by FAAC indicates that the subsidy is back and NNPC is now using NLNG dividends to pay the subsidy.
Recall that former president Muhammadu Buhari left the country with the highest amount spent on subsidising petrol in Nigeria’s history.
According to oil and gas industry reports conducted by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the cost of petrol subsidy from 2015 to 2020 was N1.99 trillion.
