The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ambassador Gabriel Tanimu Aduda, on Thursday, revealed that the Federal Government is committed to fuel subsidy removal but cannot be specific on the date until all indices are considered to ensure that the move would not be too hard on the average Nigerian.
Ambassador Aduda during a press conference organised to mark the end of the 2023 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2023), said that government is currently working to ensure that forex is made available for those that would do import as a result of subsidy removal, adding that efforts are also being made to ensure that supplies are available for a minimum of six months ahead to ensure that disruptions will be minimal.
“Subsidy removal is one that had been with us for a long time. And I want to tell you that my minister is taking it very seriÂously and all of us in the indusÂtry because we totally understand the importance of removal of subsidy. But we also understand the greater importance of the citizens in the scheme of things. And as we speak we are still takÂing a very close look at how best we can achieve subsidy without disrupting the entire ecosystem of livelihood in Nigeria because that is our responsibility as govÂernment.
“We have to ensure that buffers are in place. We have to ensure that forex is made availÂable for those that would do imÂport going forward from there. There is quite a lot we need to put in place and we have to ensure that supplies are available for a minimum of six months ahead to ensure that when we do that, the disruptions will be minimal. There are quite a number of facÂtors that we need to look at but yes, government is committed to removal but we cannot be too specific until we are sure that evÂery indices have been considered to ensure that the effect is not too hard on the average Nigerianâ€
