FG to pay N5.4trn fuel subsidy in 2024 — Finance minister

The federal government on Wednesday admitted that it would spend up to N5.4 trillion on oil subsidy in 2024.

Thefrontrank reports that President Bola Tinubu had on May 29, 2023, at his inaugural speech, declared that the era of paying oil subsidy was over.

The revelation came during a presentation by Wale Edun, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, in an Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan (ASAP), designed to address key challenges affecting the reform initiatives and stimulate development in various sectors of the economy.

“At current rates, expenditure on fuel subsidy is projected to reach N5.4 trillion by the end of 2024.

“This compares unfavourably with N3.6 trillion in 2023 and N2.0 trillion in 2022,” a draft copy of the ASAP presented by Edun said.

The draft copy of the ASAP presented to the president was accompanied by an Executive Order to bolster the plan.

It revealed that the federal government is still supporting downstream consumption.

The federal government had previously maintained that it would no longer subsidise fuel costs, instead opting for a deregulation policy.