The Federal Government on Tuesday explained why it suspended the payment of fuel subsidy to oil marketers.
The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
said the huge amount so far paid as subsidy arrears within the first
five months of the year was responsible for the suspension.
Her explanation followed a publication in a national newspaper
on Monday that the suspension of fuel subsidy payments to oil marketers
would cause scarcity of petroleum products in the country.
In a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant
on Communication to the minister, Mr. Paul Nwabuiku, Okonjo-Iweala said
no marketer would stampede the government into making payments that
were not verified.
She said based on the Petroleum Products Pricing
Regulatory Agency and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s
claims, N451bn out of the N888bn budgeted for subsidy in 2012 had been
spent on arrears of 2011
The minister said, “Since the NNPC/PPPRA estimate for
the 2011 arrears was N232bn, this means that more than double the
projected amount has already been spent and those agencies are still
bringing in more claims. This is clearly not sustainable and the
ministry has a responsibility to ensure that the lapses that may have
led to this unhealthy situation are not repeated. That is the least that
the ministry owes the Nigerian people.
“In line with the directive of the President, the
ministry will continue to work towards the improvement of the fuel
subsidy regime based on the lessons learnt from our recent experiences.”
Okonjo-Iweala said the ministry was determined to put
in place a strong framework for the fuel subsidy regime that is both
transparent and sustainable.
She said, “Speculation that prudence in subsidy
payments will cause fuel scarcity is wrong. The Federal Ministry of
Finance has a responsibility to ensure that subsidy payments are made in
a prudent and transparent manner.
PUNCH
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