Buhari does not plan to remove subsidy on petrol for now: Timipre Sylva

The junior minister explained that the FG will not remove subsidy until it had engaged with stakeholders.

Ahmed Oluwasanjo • January 24, 2022

Timipre Sylva and petrol queue used to illustrate the story

President Muhammadu Buhari regime says it presently has no plans to remove fuel subsidy.
“I will tell you categorically that at this moment, the complete removal of subsidy is not on our plate at all,” Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva said.

Mr Sylva disclosed this in an interview with Channels TV on Sunday night, adding that “The President (Mr Buhari) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not in support of removing subsidy at this time.”

The junior minister who admitted that fuel subsidy removal would have serious impact on citizens, explained that the federal government will not remove subsidy until it had fully engaged with relevant stakeholders.

This comes amidst opposition and planned protests by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) over the rumoured removal of the subsidy by federal government.

Former military president, Abdulsalami Abubakar, also warned the Buhari-led regime against the removal, saying it could trigger a protest worse than #EndSARS.

In November 2021, minister of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, said the Buhari regime will effect fuel subsidy removal by June 2022.
The finance minister had explained that citizens would be supported with N5,000 monthly transportation allowance to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal.

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