Buhari Requests N4 Trillion To Settle Fuel Subsidy In 2022

President Muhammadu Buhari has requested the approval of N4 trillion as payments for fuel subsidy payments in 2022.

The president said this in a letter addressed to the house of representatives, titled “Submission of the Revised 2022 Fiscal Framework”.

Femi Gbajamila, speaker of the house of representatives, read the letter during a plenary on Thursday.

In February, President Buhari had requested the provision of N2.557 trillion for petrol subsidy payments in 2022 — even as petrol subsidy payments gulped N1.43 trillion in 2021.

In the letter dated April 5, Buhari said the incremental provision by N442.72 billion from N3.557 trillion to N4 trillion was necessary in the face of current economic developments, including the increased market price of crude oil aggravated by the Russian-Ukraine war.

“As you are aware, there have been new developments both in the global economy as well as in the domestic economy which have necessitated the revision of the 2022 Fiscal Framework on which the 2022 Budget was based,” he said.

“These developments include spikes in the market price of crude oil, aggravated by the Russian-Ukraine war, significantly lower oil production volume due principally to production shut-ins as a result of massive theft of crude oil between the production platforms and the terminals.”

According to Buhari, the decision to suspend the removal of petrol subsidy at a time when high crude oil prices have elevated the subsidy cost has significantly eroded government revenues.

“Following these developments, it has become necessary to adjust the fiscal framework and accordingly, amend the 2022 Appropriation Act to ensure its successful Implementation,” Buhari said.

He said the adjustments to the 2022 fiscal framework include an increase in the projected oil price benchmark, from $62 per barrel to $73 per barrel, up by US$11 per barrel.

Source: TheCable