Petrol Subsidy Gulps N1.4trn Annually – Kachikwu

The Federal Government spends a whopping N1.4 trillion annually on petrol subsidy, Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, says.

According to The Cable, Kachikwu made the disclosure on Thursday at a workshop on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) organised by the petroleum ministry in Abuja.

The minister explained that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is the sole importer of fuel into the country, and as well bears the burden of the cost of importing the product.

Kachikwu’s revelation comes weeks after Maikanti Baru, group managing director of the NNPC, said the Corporation spends N774 million daily for subsidising petrol supply.

Recall that the petroleum minister had in 2016 said the federal government made savings in excess of N1.4 trillion since subsidy was removed from petrol in the early part of 2016.

He said such savings could kick-start the “long overdue process of revamping critical infrastructure in the downstream sub-sector such as pipelines, refineries and tank farms”.

It will be recalled that in 2012, the former administration of Goodluck Jonathan, came under intense scrutiny from all corners, especially the opposition after it claimed to have spent N1.2 trillion on fuel subsidy.