ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has backed President Bola Tinubu on his pronouncement to remove fuel subsidy.
In his inaugural address on Monday, the President had declared an end to the era of subsidy payment.
He said the 2023 budget made no provision for fuel subsidy, hence further payment was no longer justifiable.
Responding in an emergency press conference at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, NNPCL told Nigerians that the move was in the best interest of the company.
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The GCEO of the company, Mele Kyari, explained that the company has been spending a substantial amount of its profits in the subsidy of the product
However, Kyari said there was no need for panic buying as fuel queues had been noticed in some areas of the FCT.
He noted also that the company had enough product to supply the country for the next 30 days, adding that it was monitoring its supply and distribution networks around the country.
Under the former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Federal Government in January announced that it would stop the payment of fuel subsidy by the end of June.
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The then Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, disclosed that in the 2023 fiscal period, the government had made provisions of N3.36 trillion for fuel subsidy payment to cover the first six months of this year.
She stated that this was in line with the 18-month extension announced in early 2022.