Yesterday President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2019 budget to the National Assembly with a total of N6.97tn being proposed to be spent for the year
Out of that amount, Buhari stated that $1 billion (or N304bn) would be used for fuel subsidy payments
Speaking to the National Assembly while presenting the budget, the President stated: “We have allowed N305 billion, equivalent to $1 billion for under-recoveries by NNPC on premium motor spirit in 2019,”
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“We will continue working to bring it downwards, so that such resources are freed to meet the developmental needs of our people.
“Let me also use this opportunity to address and clarify the under-recoveries or subsidies on petrol in a period of economic challenges, our purchasing power is weak, we must reduce some of the burden on Nigerians.” he said
President Buhari went on to explain the changes in the subsidies sector, noting that the NNPC are the only importers of oil in the country
“The problem in subsidies in the past was abuse and corruption. Today, the government through the NNPC is the sole importer of premium motor spirit,” Buhari added
“Therefore the under-recovery is fro the NNPC trading account. This means the possibilities of some marketer falsifying claims are removed.”