The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, has revealed that Nigeria spent a staggering N13 trillion on fuel subsidies payment from the period of 2005 to 2021. This statement comes amidst the ongoing confusion surrounding the fuel subsidy removal.
While unveiling the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in Abuja, Mustapha stated that the petrol subsidy had been managed best under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Furthermore, he assured Nigerians that a robust framework would be left by the outgoing government for the incoming administration led by President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Mustapha succinctly put the figures into perspective, saying that “the N13tn is equivalent to Nigeria’s health, education, agriculture, and defence budget in the last five years and almost the capital expenditure for ten years between 2011 and 2020”.
The Federal Government had earlier suspended the subsidy removal until the end of June as it seeks input from the incoming government concerning the issue.
If fuel subsidy removal is finally implemented by the end of June, it is believed that the move would save Nigeria about N3.36 trillion.
