Five Things You Need To Know About Fuel Subsidy Removal

On 29th May President Bola Ahmed Tinubu shocked most Nigerians with the announcement of the removal of the fuel subsidy during his inaugural speech, saying declaratively, “Subsidy is gone.”

With the announcement, the cost of premium motor spirits, PMS, known as petrol went up with some filing stations selling as much as N700 per liter.

However, contrary to expectations that the NNPCL would increase the official price of fuel in June, they did so on 31st May, two days after Tinubu announced subsidy removal.

Explaining the reason for this, the NNPCL stated that since 2022, the Federal Government has not made any subsidy payment, adding that as of March 2023, the FG owes the NNPCL N2.3trn fuel subsidy money.

With the removal of the fuel subsidy, here are five things to know about the NNPCL and the fuel market.

1. Although the NNPCL is still selling old stock, the corporation has explained that it needed to sell at the new rate to be able to restock.

2. The NNPCL will no longer be the sole importer of fuel into the country.

3. The NNPCL will no longer fix the price of fuel in the market. The price will be determined by the seller.

4. The cost of fuel in the market will be determined by market forces

5. Government authorities would, however, be on alert to ensure that citizens are not cheated.