Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has triggered debate on fuel subsidies, with allegations that the Nigerian government, under President Bola Tinubu, has spent trillions of naira subsidizing petrol (PMS) since he assumed office in May 2023.
This revelation came amid ongoing discussions about fuel subsidies in Nigeria. Previously, the government announced a removal of fuel subsidies, leading to an increase in pump prices. However, El-Rufai stated that the effort was unsuccessful, forcing a return to subsidies at a higher cost.
El-Rufai spoke recently in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital while delivering a Lead Paper at the Capacity Building Workshop on Enhancing Skills of Government Officials in Policy Implementation
El_Rufai said: “The present administration has so far spent trillions of naira for subsidy.”
According to him, the current price of petrol, between ₦600 and ₦750 per litre, is artificially low owing to the subsidy. Without it, prices could be closer to those of diesel, which currently exceed ₦1,000 per litre in some areas.
He added: “But as I also said earlier during my presentation, the removal of fuel subsidy by the present administration is another good policy by President Tinubu. I have always supported the withdrawal of fuel subsidy.
“But as you can see, in the course of implementation, the government has now realized that the subsidy has to be back, because right now, we are paying a lot of money amounting to trillions of naira for subsidy even more than before, because the impact has been seen and the packages of support that will reduce the impact have not been effective in reducing the impact, and so, the federal government has to backpedal by subsidizing petrol.
“Many people don’t know this. If they want to know whether there is fuel subsidy or not, they should compare the prices of petrol and diesel per litre. This is because, under normal circumstances, petrol is supposed to be more expensive than diesel. As it is, diesel is above N1000, while petrol stood at about N600 per litre. So we are still subsidizing for fuel in Nigeria.”
