By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu has granted the request of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to use the 2023 final dividends for the payment of subsidies on premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol.
This is coming as the nation is witnessing another round of fuel scarcity across major cities and towns as a result of disruption in the supply of the product.
It is also happening amid claims by the Nigerian government that it is not paying subsidy after Mr Tinubu on May 29, 2023, during his inaugural speech, declared an end to petrol subsidy.
The product is sold by the retail stations of the NNPC at N568 per litre, while independent marketers sell between N630 per litre and N1,000 per litre at the moment because of scarcity.
According to reports, President Tinubu has authorised NNPC to use its 2023 final dividends to cover petrol subsidy costs, especially as it makes efforts to keep the retail price at N568 per litre despite prevailing inflationary pressure.
It was reported that the state-owned oil agency had told Mr Tinubu that due to the subsidy payments, it is currently unable to pay taxes and royalties into the federation account.
It claimed that the total petrol subsidy expenses from August 2023 to December 2024 will amount to N6.884 trillion, leaving the company unable to remit N3.987 trillion in taxes and royalties to the federation account.
Adedapo Adesanya