The Nigerian federal government has said that it would remove fuel subsidies by 2022 and further replace them with a meagre N5,000 naira monthly grant, which is to be paid to the poorest Nigerians. ayokinews.com reports
This was made known by the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, while speaking at the World Bank Nigeria Development Update (NDU) on Tuesday.
Speaking on how the money would be shared, Zainab stated that the N5,000 grant was going to be given to about 30 – 40 million Nigerians who make up the poorest population of the country.
The minister explained that the beneficiaries of the grant will depend on the resources available after the removal of the fuel subsidy.
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“The subsidies regime in the [oil] sector remains unsustainable and economically disingenuous.
“Ahead of the target date of mid-2022 for the complete elimination of fuel subsidies, we are working with our partners on measures to cushion potential negative impact of the removal of the subsidies on the most vulnerable at the bottom 40% of the population.
“One of such measures would be to institute a monthly transport subsidy in the form of cash transfer of N5,000 to between 30 – 40 million deserving Nigerians,” Zainab said.