The Federal Government on Wednesday finally approved the payment of N407.07bn as fuel subsidy to oil marketers.
The payment was confirmed by the
Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, through a statement issued by
the Director, Press in the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Marshal Gundu.
The payments according to the statement include arrears from the 2014 financial year as well as payments for the current year.
The minister in the statement said the
approval was given following a directive issued by President Muhammadu
Buhari that the amount be paid immediately to the oil marketers in order
to end the lingering fuel scarcity in the country.
It called on the oil marketers to
reciprocate the action of the Federal Government by ensuring that all
fuel queues disappear within the shortest time possible.
The fuel scarcity which has been on for about a month had caused severe hardship to Nigerians.
The minister in the statement said
despite the dwindling revenues, the Federal Government is still
committed towards ensuring that Petroluem products are made available to
Nigerians.
The statement reads in part, “The
Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has confirmed payment of
N407,076,805,386.30 for subsidy claims to oil marketers so as to end the
lingering fuel situation.
“The Minister stated that the President
has directed that payments be made immediately in order to bring to a
quick end the lingering fuel crisis which has caused great suffering to
Nigerian families and businesses.”
“She also said that despite dwindling
revenues, the government is committed to ensuring continuous
availability of fuel to Nigerians.
“The payments include arrears from the
2014 financial year as well as payments for the current year. It is
expected that the recipients would ensure adequate supply of fuel to end
the persistent fuel shortage in the nation.
“With this action which shows that
government is fully committed to meeting its financial obligations in
respect of fuel subsidy, the Minister further implored the major oil
marketers to reciprocate the action by doing all they can to bring the
fuel scarcity to an end.”
A total of N143bn was approved by the National Assembly in April this year for subsidy payment for the 2015 fiscal period.
A breakdown of the amount showed that
the sum of N100bn was provided for as subsidy for Premium Motor Spirit,
while N43bn was approved for Dual Purpose Kerosene.
Following the utilization of the amount,
President Muhammadu Buhari had sent a supplementary budget to the
Senate requesting additional N413bn for payment of subsidy to oil
marketers.
However, the senate after considering
the proposal increased the subsidy budget by N109bn bringing the amount
approved by the upper chamber as subsidy to N522.25bn.
The federal government in 2013, budgeted the sum of N970bn for fuel subsidy same as the 2014 fiscal period.
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