Subsidy Removal: Buhari wary of disrupting livelihoods, says petroleum ministry
The federal government says it is considering how best to achieve subsidy removal without disrupting livelihoods in Nigeria.
Gabriel Aduda, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, said this while briefing journalists on Thursday at the end of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2023).
He said the government was committed to subsidy removal but could not be specific until all indices were considered to ensure that the effect would not be harsh on average Nigerians.
The summit was declared open by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The sixth edition of NIES was held from April 16 to 20.
“We totally understand the importance of the removal of subsidy, but we also understand the greater importance of the citizens in the scheme of things. As we speak, we are still taking a very close look at how best to achieve subsidy without disrupting the entire ecosystem of livelihood in Nigeria,” stated the oil ministry official.
Mr Aduda added, “Because that is our responsibility as government. We have to ensure that the buffers are in place and forex is made available for imports. We have to ensure that supply is available for a minimum of six months to make disruption minimal.”
The permanent secretary said to match words with action, the 2024 NIES would begin with a session on the fallouts of suggestions made in 2023, as agreed in the communique.
According to him, items achieved between 2022 and 2023 would be listed, including rules and regulations by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
He said the recommendations of the NEIS would form part of policy implementation.
(NAN)
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