$800m Palliative For Petrol Subsidy Removal Awaiting National Assembly Approval

The minister of finance, budget, and national planning, Zainab Ahmed has disclosed that  the $800 million facility secured from the World Bank as part of its post-subsidy palliatives is awaiting approval by the national assembly.

Ahmed disclosed this over the weekend while speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the just-concluded International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank spring meetings in Washington DC, United states.

The federal government had said it would end under-recovery payments in June 2023, despite allocating N3.35 trillion for subsidy.

Earlier in the month, Ahmed had explained that the $800 million received from the bank would be disbursed to the 10 million households considered to be most vulnerable, to cushion the effect of the planned subsidy removal.

Giving updates on the funds, the minister said the initial duration of the palliative was six months, noting that each household (10 million) would receive N5,000 each for the period of six months.

The minister said the newly established presidential transition council (PTC) would conduct an assessment, and if the relief was insufficient, the country might need to raise more funds to be able to cover more people, extend the deadline, or increase the amount.

“The $800 million has been negotiated and approved by the federal executive council (FEC) and we now have a request before the parliament for approval. And once the parliament approves it, we will roll it out,” she said.