The presidency has insisted that the President Bola Tinubu government is no longer paying fuel subsidy, despite seeming evidence and media reports to the contrary.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited had admitted that the current fuel scarcity being experienced in the country is as a result of its inability to offset dept owed to suppliers.
But Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to the president on media and strategy, in a lengthy post on X on Tuesday, insisted that the Tinubu government did not lie about fuel subsidies, arguing that NNPC cried out recently because it can no longer sustain the price differential on its balance sheet without becoming insolvent.
"I have read a series of articles attacking the Federal Government for not telling the truth about fuel subsidy payments, following NNPC Limited's admittance it was owing suppliers some $6 billion," Onanuga wrote via his X handle, @aonanuga1956.
"Some of the stories have been written with relish, as the authors believed they have uncovered some scoops.
"The truth is that there is no discovery. No lie uncovered. The government has been faithful to its policy that it was no longer going to pay fuel subsidies since President Tinubu announced the deregulation of the PMS sector on 29 May 2023. Since then, subsidy provisions have disappeared from the budget. It was not in the Supplementary budget of 2023, not in the 2024 budget and the amended 2024 budget.
"So the giddy headlines about the so-called unraveling of the Tinubu government’s subsidy payment; and return of subsidy were not justifiable.
"Rather what has unravelled was the commendable disposition of the oil company owned by all the tiers of government to absorb the rising costs of petrol at the pump and protect the Nigerian consumer. That generous disposition by NNPC Limited, backed by a compassionate president unwilling to let the people suffer, has been under threat for months, because of the rising cost of crude and the devalued Naira.
"The NNPC cried out recently because it can no longer sustain the price differential on its balance sheet without becoming insolvent. The situation has greater implications for the ability of the three tiers of government to function as the NNPC has failed to pay into the Federation Account, the money that should go to the government."
There are no easy choices. Something must be done to make NNPC survive, keep the engines of government running and petrol flowing at the pumps. That is the scenario that is unfolding and the game changer and big relief giver may well be the Dangote refinery and other local refineries which will become the fuel suppliers to the local market. When Dangote Refinery and other refineries, including government owned Port Harcourt Refinery, come fully on stream, our country and economy will benefit on all fronts. There will be many good paying jobs that will be created along the value-chain. There will also be a drop in the huge demand for foreign exchange to import petroleum products.
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