Fuel Subsidy Stood at N5.3 Billion in June Despite Market Deregulation

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it spent N5.348 billion on petrol subsidy in the month of June.

The subsidy reported as under-recovery in the corporation’s latest report is the losses incurred due to the difference between the subsidised price NNPC sells petrol and price which petrol should have been sold without subsidy (real price).

The latest report was after the Federal Government through the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency said, in March, that it has officially halted petrol subsidy.

However, the latest financial and operations report released for the month of June, showed NNPC incurred N5.348 billion as subsidy on imported petrol in the month under review.

Further analysis revealed that the corporation incurred N43.31 billion, M20.68 billion and N37.66 billion as under-recovery in the months of January, February and March 2020, respectively.

NNPC, however, reported zero subsidy in the months of April and May 2020, based on the financial report for receipts and payments for the months.

But in the month of June, the report showed NNPC incurred over N5 billion as under-recovery despite the government saying it has halted fuel subsidy.

In April, during a live programme on African Independent Television, the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mele Kyari, said fuel subsidy was gone forever.

Therefore, it was shocking to see over N5 billion appropriated to subsidy in June.