FG introducing illegal fuel subsidy, lawmaker alleges

A federal lawmaker has accused the Federal Government of illegally introducing fuel subsidy.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Mr. Joseph Akinlaja, accused the FG of illegally reintroducing subsidy on the Premium Motor Spirit.
He said the government had to explain how the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation was incurring subsidy cost of N26 per litre of petrol sold in the country when no such provision was appropriated in the 2017 budget.
According to him, Nigerians deserve an explanation on the development, which has seen the NNPC offsetting N26 on every litre of the PMS, better known as petrol, sold to the public lately.
In 2016, following the increase in the pump price of petrol, from N87 to N145, the government claimed it had stopped paying subsidy on fuel.
A price range of between N143 and N145 was allowed, but marketers quickly settled for the upper limit of N145.
However, government admitted, in the heat of the latest round of petrol scarcity, that the NNPC, the sole importer of the product, had been paying an extra N26 on each litre of the product.
A landing cost of N171 per litre and a pump price of N145 automatically leave a gap of N26.
Akinlaja said, “I call it backdoor subsidy because as a legislature, we are not aware of the N26. The Executive has assumed the role of the National Assembly through
the NNPC.
“The Executive is responsible for the execution of polices and the National Assembly has the role of making laws. As a legislature, we didn’t make any new law or appropriation of money in the name of subsidy on petrol. Who appropriated this N26 per litre? One million litres is equal to N26 million and one billion litres is equal to N26 billion.
“Is N26 billion small money? Can N26 billion be approved through Executive fiat or order? No!”
He added that his committee had already been directed by the Speaker of the House, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, to join the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources to investigate the cause of the fuel scarcity in the country.
He said the leadership of the National Assembly was worried that despite the assurances given by the NNPC that there was enough petrol in stock, Nigerians celebrated the Christmas and New Year facing difficulties in moving from one part of the country to
another.
“We are starting the investigation on Wednesday. First, we will go round various service points to speak with other stakeholders and ask questions on why we have this scarcity. It is important for us to have that first-hand information. We will come back and sit for a public hearing the next day, being Thursday. All the stakeholders have been invited and we have to find answers to two issues,” he added.
However, the Chairman, Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Dapo Abiodun, said neither the corporation nor the independent marketers could be blamed for the crippling fuel scarcity.