The Minister of Finance and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, lamented that expenditure of N18.69 billion daily on petroleum subsidy by Nigerian National Petroleum Limited has become a major concern to members of the Federal Executive Council ( FEC).
She stated this when she appeared before the House of Representatives ad hoc Committee investigating oil subsidies.
The Minister claimed Nigeria consumes 64 million litres per day and that the figure could have been influenced by smuggling.
Ahmed said the executive is also concerned about the increment in daily consumption
She lamented that some of the products are being smuggled outside the country, adding that during COVID-19 locked down, daily consumption dropped significantly..
She stated that the president alone cannot take the decision on removing subsidy, insisting that there must be a multi-stakeholder approach, including all political parties, who must sit to make the decision.
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The minister disclosed that the landing cost of petroleum is N448 per litre and that the NNPC takes care of the rest through under recovery.
She further said the Federal Executive Council has also expressed worry about the figure presented by the NNPC.
Adding that as the Minister of Finance, she has no access to the bank statement of the NNPC
The Chairman of the Committee, Ibrahim Aliyu questioned the figure provided by the Minister.
Aliyu said even during the COVID19 locked down, Nigeria was still consuming high volume, which according to him was not logical.
He claimed the daily petroleum consumption was about 32 million litres.
But the Minister responded that she is not sure whether daily consumption has doubled and not also sure if the total number of vehicles in the country has doubled in the past 10 years.
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