There won’t be petrol subsidy after Buhari signs PIB – Minister

Nigeria will no longer operate the subsidy system to regulate the cost of Petrol once President Muhammadu Buhari signs into law the Petroleum Industry Bill, recently passed by the National Assembly.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, announced this on Monday.

Sylva, who spoke at: “Nigeria/Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries: 50 Years of Partnership,” press conference in Abuja, said it was best for Nigeria that the Federal Government discontinued subsidy on petrol, stressing that the recently passed PIB had no provision for subsidy.

He said: “This (subsidy removal) is desirable for the interest and growth of Nigeria.

“Of course, everybody will have their perspectives, but from where I sit, I believe that subsidy removal is the best thing for Nigeria, not just the industry.

“So far, the discussions with stakeholders are still ongoing.

“But I will also bring it to your attention that today, when the President assents to the PIB, subsidy will become a matter of law because it is already in the PIB that petroleum products will be sold at market determined prices.

“The removal of subsidy has the potential of unlocking a lot more funds for deployment to development.

“Unfortunately, what we are doing by way of subsidy is like cutting our nose to spite our face.”

 

Facebook Comments

Leave a Reply