Yesterday, the Presidency refuted reports that it was planning to pay N5.4 trillion for petrol subsidies in 2024.
Recall that on Wednesday, President Tinubu was challenged by Abubakar Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate for the 2023 elections, to cease misleading Nigerians about the real position of his administration on fuel subsidies.
He said that the administration had been paying trillions of naira in secret for the petrol subsidy despite Tinubu’s public posturing to the contrary. He estimated that the total amount paid for subsidies under Tinubu’s leadership would likely reach N5.4 trillion this year.
Atiku charged Tinubu’s administration of misappropriating public funds by paying fuel subsidies in secret once more yesterday.
However, in a statement released yesterday, Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Advisor on Information and Strategy, reaffirmed that the fuel subsidy era was over.
“The government wishes to reiterate that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s May 29, 2023, declaration regarding fuel subsidies remains unchanged.
“The program of fuel subsidies has finished. Contrary to popular belief, N5.4 trillion is not set aside for it in 2024, the speaker stated.
“As previously stated by government officials, including myself, President Tinubu announced the end of the fuel subsidy program last year, and this policy remains firmly in place,” the presidential spokesman reiterated the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun’s statement.
According to Onanuga, the federal government is dedicated to lessening the impact of the removal and relieving Nigerians of their cost of living obligations.
“Our approach centers on tackling critical elements like food inflation, which is heavily influenced by transportation expenses. We anticipate more cost reductions with the launch of our CNG program, which aims to replace high PMS and AGO expenses.
“We are steadfast in our commitment to supporting our most vulnerable populations and to ending unproductive subsidies,” Onanuga stated.
Tinubu is utilizing covert payments to siphon public monies, according to Atiku
Atiku, meantime, charged the administration of President Bola Tinubu once more Wednesday for misappropriating public funds by paying fuel subsidies in secret.
Atiku claimed there was much to be desired about the administration’s failure to disclose the exact amount being spent on the project and the secrecy surrounding the subsidy payment.
In response to the Presidency’s declaration, the former vice president made this comment in an Abuja statement.
Atiku clarified that one of the reasons investments in the oil sector had not materialized was because of the covert subsidy regime.
He declared: “Tinubu has elevated the dubious aspects of managing Lagos to the federal level.” His Special Advisor on Energy, Olu Verheijen, disputes his statements that subsidies are no longer available, while his Finance Minister, Wale Edun, characterizes the process of eliminating subsidies as “ongoing.”
“The very people who wrote the document, the coordinating minister of the economy, are now denying that they wrote it and disclosing the amount of subsidies paid.
Nigeria is still paying for gasoline subsidies, according to independent reports from the World Bank and the IMF, but the Tinubu administration won’t admit it. The payment of the subsidy had even been disclosed by a senior APC member.
It is ironic that a man who professes to be working to entice foreign direct investment is blind to the fact that his lies and policy reversals could turn off potential investors. As he also serves as the minister of petroleum, he needs to be transparent about this subsidy issue.
