Subsidy elimination: Discussions on alternatives are not yet finalized – FG

 

As it prepares to eliminate petroleum products subsidy in the middle of 2023, the federal government has stated that no decision has been made on how to mitigate the likely effects of the proposed fuel subsidy elimination on the general public.

 

Clement Agba, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, stated this on Wednesday while fielding questions from State House reporters following a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

He stated that although a committee led by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had been working for approximately a year, no definitive agreement had been reached.

 

Agba hoped that the committee working with state governors could quickly reach a consensus on the issue.

 

According to him, there is no timetable for the Osinbajo committee to wrap up the ongoing discussion.

 

He recalled, however, that in the federal government’s Medium-Term Expenditure Framework for 2022 to 2023, N3.3trillion was proposed for fuel subsidies between January and June 2023.

 

“The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has been leading a committee working on this for over a year and a half, and the National Economic Council also has a committee working on this,” he said in response to a question about the palliative measures that would be put in place to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.

 

“At this point, we are determining how to finalize the proposals that have emerged from both the federal government and the governors. As you are aware, this is something that will affect the entire nation.

 

They will simply need to ensure that both the federal and subnational governments are carried along. (TNT)

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