The Nigerian Government has confirmed its decision to abstain from reinstating fuel subsidies amidst ongoing protests regarding food scarcity.
During an interview on AIT, the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, confirmed on Tuesday that the 2024 national budget does not incorporate fuel subsidies, addressing the demonstrators' call for their reinstatement as a remedy to the cost of living surge.
Edun emphasized that the absence of fuel subsidies in the budget aligns with the government's commitment to economical progress, stating, "There is no fuel subsidy in the Budget. That is the truth and the technical fact. We have signs that we are going in the right direction. What we must determine to do is to maintain these trends."
In a recent address to the nation, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu acknowledged the pain associated with the removal of fuel subsidies but deemed it necessary. Conversely, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in an interview with Financial Times, attributed the resurgence of Nigeria's fuel subsidy to inflation.
It is worth recalling that President Tinubu eliminated the fuel subsidy in June 2023, causing the price per liter to increase from N238 to over N600.
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