N5trn Fuel Subsidy: Tinubu Shätters Buhari, Jonathan Records

The federal government says it will pay over N5 trillion in fuel subsidy this year.

Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economy made this known in the Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan, ASAP, report submitted to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Before this revelation, the administration had denied paying fuel subsidy to petroleum marketers.

Recall that President Tinubu claimed last year that he has ended fuel subsidy in his now infamous “fuel subsidy is gone” inaugural speech on May 29, 2023.

According to him, then, the removal was necessary in other to save the country from collapse, saying that the country could no longer afford to continue the multi-billion naira fuel subsidy regime.

The removal has aggravated the price of essential commodities in the country, shooting inflation to an all-time high of close to 40 percent, according to analysts.

Also, this is the first time such an amount will be paid as fuel subsidy in the country, raising serious questions on the fiscal transparency of the administration, and why Nigerians have been lied to that the government was no longer paying to subsidize fuel.

According to the report, the projected subsidy cost for 2024 marks has risen sharply to N5.4 trillion, highlighting a marked spike from ₦3.6 trillion in 2023 and ₦2 trillion in 2022.

Meanwhile, the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate has reacted to the issue, saying the Tinubu administration lied to Nigerians.

The former Vice President says Nigerians deserve better, in terms of transparency, from President Tinubu.