FG saves N1.45 trillion as a Result of Removal of PMS Subsidy

The federal government has effectively saved over N1.45 trillion in earnings that resulted from the elimination of the premium motor spirit, or petrol subsidy between June and September.
These findings were based on records from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) retrieved through the official websites of the National Bureau of Statistics and the Nigeria Governors Forum.
After a thorough examination of the data, it was revealed that the government’s Non-Oil Revenue (Savings) account received monthly payments totalling N696.93 billion in June, N389.7 billion in July, N71 billion in August, and N289 billion in September.
During his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, President Bola Tinubu formally proclaimed the elimination of the petrol subsidy, declaring, “Subsidy is gone.”
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited reported spending N1.828 trillion on subsidy payments between January 2023 and May 2023 prior to the withdrawal of subsidies. Comparing this sum to the same period in 2022, there was an astounding 55% growth.
About N1.15 trillion was spent on subsidies in the first four months of 2023; a comprehensive breakdown shows that the amounts spent were N274.769 billion in January, N477.742 billion in February, N415.381 billion in March, and N353.130 billion in April.
President Bola Tinubu revealed in a speech to the people on August 1, 2023, that the Federal Government of Nigeria had been able to save N1 trillion in just two months after the petrol subsidies were removed, notably in June and July.
Tinubu stressed that national intervention programmes intended to help families throughout the nation will now get these significant savings, which would have otherwise been vulnerable to abuse by those he called “smugglers and fraudsters.”
According to Tinubu, these savings are an important step in the government’s attempts to improve fiscal discipline, consolidate its finances, and reallocate funds to initiatives that would improve the lives of individuals across the country.
He stated, “In a little over two months, we have saved over a trillion Naira that would have been squandered on the unproductive fuel subsidy which only benefitted smugglers and fraudsters.”
Festus Osifo, the head of the Trade Union Congress, had expressed concern over money that the administration purported to have saved. Osifo questioned where the savings from the elimination of subsidies went.
Speaking about the issue in an interview with AriseTV, Osifo stated that the Federal Government should just use a portion of the money on Nigerians, adding that since the government declared that N1 trillion has been saved, there is no need to keep borrowing money.
Osifo said, “The president and commander-in-chief on his own came and said the country has saved N1 trillion. The federal government went everywhere to announce that if the subsidy is removed, it’s going to save substantial money.
He made this revelation on Monday in Abuja at a discussion with top journalists.
The minister stressed that a lot had been passed on to state governors in that regard, but he was unsure of the exact sum saved.
He said, “So much money has been saved since the removal of the subsidy. Some of the money that has been saved has been given to states.
“Mr President believes that state governments are closer to the people than the federal. That is why the administration has been passing funds through the governors to provide palliatives to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal.
“I cannot give the exact figure right now because it is an ongoing exercise.”

Source: allnewsng.com

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