President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the payment of N407.7 billion subsidy claims to oil marketers in order to put an end to the lingering fuel scarcity across the nation.
Marshall Gundu, Director of Press in the Ministry of Finance, confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday.
Gundu said Mrs Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance, has already confirmed the payment to the oil marketers.
However, the figure does not add up to the government’s indebtedness to the marketers.
Mr. Obafemi Olawore, Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), had said in November that the government was owing the marketers N270 billion for subsidy, foreign exchange rate losses and bank interest charges, N413 billion was subsidy debt from August 2014 to September 2015, while additional N256 billion on foreign exchange and accrued interest was still pending.
But Gundu said Buhari directed that the payment be “made immediately in order to bring to a quick end the lingering fuel crisis which has caused great suffering to Nigerian families and businesses”.
He also quoted Adeosun as saying: “Despite dwindling revenues, the government is committed to ensuring continuous availability of fuel to Nigerians.”
According to Gundu, the payments include arrears from the 2014 financial year as well as payments for the current year.
He quoted Adeosun as urging the major oil marketers “to do all they can” to bring the fuel scarcity to an end, and promised that the approved payments will be published. Last week, the Senate increased the Federal Government’s supplementary budget from N465 billion to N574 billion to cover fuel subsidy supply till the end of 2015.
-TheCable
