…Finance Commissioners commend the President over subsidy removal
…NNPCL withheld N8.48trn since January 2022
The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has expressed its support for President Bola Tinubu’s decision to stop the payment of subsidy on petrol.
This is as the commission said that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has withheld about N8.48 trillion as claimed subsidies for petrol since January 1, 2022.
This disclosure is contained in a statement issued by the RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu, on Thursday, June 8, 2023, where he pointed out that the payments of “humongous” amounts to a privileged few in the name of subsidy were a major drain on the nation’s scarce resources.
Shehu noted that the NNPC which is one of the major sources of revenue to the Federation Account, had since stopped contributing to the national purse due to the fuel subsidy regime.
He disclosed that the President’s pronouncement of the removal of fuel subsidy due to the non-budgetary provision for subsidy is a masterstroke that broke the jinx and the appropriate step in the right direction.
The statement partly reads, “The country can no longer sustain fuel subsidies whose demerits far outweigh its benefits to the citizenry.
“The total amount withheld by the NNPCL as claimed subsidies for this period amounted to N8,480,204,553,608.13 as reported by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) which is yet to be reconciled by the RMAFC, OAGF, and NNPCL.”
The RMAFC boss maintained that it would be unwise to sustain the phantom subsidy payments at the detriment of other critical sectors of the economy, especially in a situation where the records of petrol subsidy transactions are not transparent and crude oil prices are determined globally.
He equally emphasized that the cessation of under-recovery payments would eliminate the uncertainty surrounding the subsidy regime, adding that it would free up funds for the execution of critical national development and human capital enhancement projects.
He enumerated such projects to include the provision of an affordable transport system, investment in the education sector, improvement in healthcare, and infrastructural development.
Finance Commissioners commend the President too
The Forum of Commissioners for Finance of Nigeria has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for removing fuel subsidy.
The outgoing Chairman of the Forum, David Olofu, gave the commendation at a valedictory session for Commissioners for Finance of Nigeria on Thursday night in Abuja.
Olofu, who is the immediate past Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, Benue State, however called on the Federal Government to ensure that all accruals from the removal of fuel subsidy should be paid into the Federation Account.
While commending Tinubu on the removal of subsidy, Olofu said, as finance experts, the Forum, like other Nigerians, had long yearned for it.
“That is what we had been yearning for. He came, his first day in office, he was able to achieve that which we have always asked for,” Olofu said.
On how the President should manage the funds from subsidy removal, Olofu said that the Constitution provides for all federation revenues to go into the federation account.
“Nobody has any authority whatsoever to deduct any amount from the federation revenue.
“So, I will align myself with the position of the Constitution and recommend that all the accruals go into the federation account and let it be disbursed from the federation account,” he said.
