Fuel Subsidy: Palliative may gulp more than $800m — Zainab Ahmed

If the proposed $800 million fuel subsidy removal palliative to the vulnerable Nigerians is not enough, the Federal Government would provide additional cash to cushion the effects. Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning of Nigeria, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this at the just concluded World Bank/ International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings in Washington D.C.

“There would be an assessment with the transition team and if the initiative or relief is not enough, the country has to raise additional resources to be able to cover more people, extend the period or increase the amount,” she said. The $800 million facility from the World Bank is to provide succour to 10 million households, which translates to 50 million Nigerians. Nigeria budgeted $7.5 billion for fuel subsidies for the first six months of this year. NNPC had spent $10 billion on fuel subsidies last year.

Mrs Ahmed explained that the initial design for the palliatives to the vulnerable was to disburse cash transfers of N5, 000 per month per household for a period of six months but it would be reviewed upon extensive consultation with stakeholders.

She also debunked news by a national daily that reported that the Federal Government would be paying a consultant a $23.3 million fee for aiding FG in attaining the $800 million World Bank facility. “The $800 million has been negotiated and approved by the Federal Executive Council and we now have a request before the parliament for approval,” she said: “And once the parliament approves it, we will roll out. We’ve also been doing preparatory work side by side along the approval process. And that includes the building of the social register, which will be used for the electronic transfers of the funds.

“We needed to have this ready because when the government eventually removes the fuel subsidy, there will be an immediate transport palliative that will be provided to the most vulnerable members of our society who have been identified, registered, and now contained in our national social register. This effort is led by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. They developed that register with the support of the World Bank.

The register has about 10 million households and that’s an equivalent of 50 million Nigerians.” The Finance Minister explained that when the subsidy is removed, there would be additional revenue that would accrue to the Federation Account. “One of the things we are working on is how this incremental revenue would be used,” she explained. “The money belongs to the federal, state, and local governments.

So, we need to know how to use this.” “We hope that we’ll be able to still fence this incremental revenue and apply it to measures that will help to ensure that the fuel subsidy removal is actually sustained so that it won’t be another start-andstop programme.” But this she said has to be a collective decision. “The current administration and the incoming administration are working on a plan to make sure that we have a consensus on how to use that incremental revenue.”