The Nigeria National Petroleum Commission Limited’s (NNPCL) Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari has revealed that the fuel subsidy regime ended in February 2022.
In an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Kyari stated that the law mandated the prices of Premium Motor Spirits PMS to be sold at normal market rates six months after the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act.
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Responding to the notion that the subsidy regime should have ended in June 2023, Kyari emphasized that the law provides for the removal of the subsidy regime six months after the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act.
He further stated that the removal of the subsidy regime was a significant step towards the growth of the Nigerian economy and the development of the petroleum industry.
According to him, the government had
“decided to spend on its citizens, which is why it was going to extend the appropriation until June 2023.
“By the provisions of the PIA, the subsidy regime vanished on the 17th of February, 2022. The law states that six months after the enactment of the PIA, petroleum products, particularly PMS must be priced at market rates.
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“By law, the subsidy regime is gone by February 17, 2022. But of course, the government can always decide to spend on its citizens, in the manner that it wants. There are subsidies on bread, fertiliser, and all kinds of other things all over the world. But the government in its wisdom, decided that there would be an appropriation for subsidy in 2022, and also provision for subsidy till the second half of 2023. That means that provision is made, but the law still applies in the market.”
The NNPCL boss said; “government did not fund the subsidy because it didn’t have the money to fund it.”
However, Kyari was optimistic that the queues across the country wouldn’t stay beyond Saturday as there was enough supply of fuel in depots, towns, and fuel stations.
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He said:
“I do not see it staying beyond Saturday. The key problem with the PMS system is supply, so I have supplied it. There are over 810 million litres of PMS or petrol in depots, and in towns and fuel stations across the country.”
