Fuel Subsidy: Keep $800 Million Borrowed From World Bank Safe – Shehu Sani Warns FG

Posted by Thandiubani on Fri 28th Apr, 2023 - tori.ng

Recall that for months, the Nigerian government had maintained it will remove subsidy, only for it to backtrack.

Former Kaduna central lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani has sent a warning to the Federal Government after it announced that it has suspended its plan to remove fuel subsidy.

Reacting to the news, Sani asked the federal government to keep safe the $800 million it received earlier as a loan from the World Bank to cushion the effect of the planned fuel subsidy removal.

The Federal Government had planned to remove petrol subsidy removal in June 2023. But on Thursday, April 27, the government announced that the plan has been suspended.

Speaking on the development shortly after the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting yesterday, which comprises State Governors, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said after extensive deliberation on the issue, a conclusion was reached that it will not be wise to remove subsidy as soon as the new administration is trying to settle down to governance.

The NEC meeting yesterday was chaired by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

Ahmed also noted in her update yesterday that the existing committee that has been discussing the fuel subsidy issue needed to be expanded to enable more input from concerned Nigerians.

Reacting to the development, Senator Sani in a post on his Twitter page said: “Now that Subsidy will not be removed, please that $800 million borrowed from the World Bank for the purpose should be kept safe, abeg.

“We don’t want to hear that consultants have been paid with half of the money.”

In another post, the former lawmaker suspected that President Muhammadu Buhari back-pedalled from the subsidy removal out of fear of protests and strikes.

“He left it to the Jagaban to deal with the problem,” Sani tweeted.