NNPC welcomes fuel subsidy removal, says it will free up funds for optimal operations

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has welcomed the pronouncement of President Bola Tinubu on the removal of fuel subsidies in the country.

In an emergency press conference at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, NNPCL told Nigerians that the move was in the best interest of the company.

“NNPC Limited welcomes the decision by the Federal Government to remove subsidies on PMS, the Group Chief Executive Office of the energy firm, Mele Kyari said at the press conference.

Kyari noted that the removal of the subsidy, which has been a burden on NNPC Limited’s cash flow, will free up funds to enable optimal operations within the company.

According to the GCEO of the company, Mele Kyari, the company has been spending a substantial amount of its profits on the subsidy of the product.

Reacting to the scarcity already being experienced, he assured Nigerians of a sufficient supply of the product. NNPC Limited is also monitoring all its distribution networks to ensure compliance.

Kyari said there was no need for panic buying as fuel queues had been noticed in some areas of the FCT.

He noted that the company had enough product to supply the country for the next 30 days, adding that it was monitoring its supply and distribution networks around the country.

In his inaugural address on Monday, President Bola Tinubu declared an end to the era of subsidy payments, saying the 2023 budget made no provision for fuel subsidies, so further payments were no longer justifiable.

“The fuel subsidy is gone,” the President said while reading his inaugural speech to the nation and thousands of supporters, dignitaries, and foreign envoys who came to witness his installation as the 16th Nigerian president.

“We commend the decision of the outgoing administration in phasing out the petrol subsidy regime which has increasingly favoured the rich more than the poor.

“Subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources. We shall instead re-channel the funds into better investment in public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions.

Under former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Federal Government announced in January that it would stop the payment of fuel subsidies by the end of June.

The then Minister of Finance and Budget, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed that in the 2023 fiscal period, the government had made provisions of N3.36 trillion for fuel subsidy payments to cover the first six months of this year.

This, she stated, was in line with the 18-month extension announced in early 2022.