The Presidency, on Thursday, reiterated the position of the Tinubu administration on fuel subsidy.
One of two viral fiscal policy documents currently circulating in both mainstream media and social media platforms purportedly revealed the federal government’s plan to sustain fuel subsidy.
The first document is titled “Inflation Reduction and Price Stability (Fiscal Policy Measure etc) Order 2024,” while the second is titled, “Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan (ASAP).”
Both documents made the rounds on Wednesday and were widely published by the media.
The two documents sparked widespread discussion and speculation regarding the government’s stance on critical economic issues and fuel subsidy.
However the presidency, a statement issued by President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the two documents were under review and had not been approved by the president.
The statement says, “President Tinubu received a copy of the draft on Tuesday. We urge the public and the media to disregard the two documents and cease further discussions on them.
“None is an approved official document of the Federal Government of Nigeria. They are all policy proposals that are still subject to reviews at the highest level of government.
“Indeed, one has ‘draft’ clearly written on it.”
The presidency also insisted in the statement that fuel subsidy is truly gone.
The statement quotes Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, as saying, “The government wants to restate that its position on fuel subsidy has not changed from what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared on 29 May 2023.
“The fuel subsidy regime has ended. There is no N5.4 trillion being provisioned for it in 2024, as being widely speculated and discussed.
“As previously stated by government officials, including myself, President Tinubu announced the end of the fuel subsidy program last year, and this policy remains firmly in place.
The statement adds that the Federal Government is committed to mitigating the effects of this removal and easing the cost of living pressures on Nigerians.
“Our strategy focuses on addressing key factors such as food inflation, which is significantly impacted by transport costs. With the implementation of our CNG initiative, which aims to displace high PMS and AGO costs, we expect to further reduce these costs.
“Our commitment to ending unproductive subsidies is steadfast, as is our dedication to supporting our most vulnerable populations,” the statement adds.
The presidency called on the media to “always exercise necessary checks and restraints in the use of documents that do not emanate from official channels so that the members of the public are properly informed, guided and educated on government policies and programmes.”
