The National Economic Council (NEC) has said it will only take a decision on the removal of subsidy on petroleum products in June when provisions made for its payment in the 2022 budget expires.
NEC, at its first meeting of the year held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said though conversations on subsidy removal had been ongoing, the council was yet to take a position on it.
NEC, which comprises of the VP and the 36 state governors, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, Minister of Finance and Budget Planning, Zainab Ahmed, and some select federal ministers, said it would use the intervening period to consult widely so as to come up with a position that would be acceptable to all Nigerians.
Ahmed had announced last year that the Federal Government would remove subsidy in the second quarter of this year, with the announcement causing a lot of furore in the country as the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), vowing to mobilize Nigerian workers to embark on a massive strike to protest the proposed subsidy removal.
While fielding questions from State House Correspondents after the NEC meeting, Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule, said the provision for payment of subsidy was made in the 2022 budget only until June and NEC would only take a stand when the budget provision ends.
