FG sets aside PIA, to pay N4.6tr on fuel subsidy

With all things considered, the Federal Government, yesterday, soft-pedalled on its initial plan to remove subsidy on petrol, setting aside its much-trumpeted Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to continue paying about N4.6 trillion provided crude oil price hovers around $85 per barrel.

The Guardian had exclusively reported last Friday that petrol may sell for N403 per litre, representing the current landing cost of the product, as against its current price of N165 from July 1, this year.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited had revealed that Nigeria consumes about 19.535 billion litres of petrol yearly, averaging 1.6 billion litres monthly. With about N241 now paid on every litre as subsidy, this brings yearly subsidy to about N4.6 trillion.