There are indications that the Federal
Government will stop kerosene subsidy in 2014 bringing to an end a
scheme that has been widely criticised as corrupt and controversial.
Our correspondent learnt on Wednesday
that no....
provision was made for kerosene subsidy in the N4.77tn 2014
budget proposal presented to the National Assembly by President Goodluck
Jonathan.
Ministry of Finance sources, who gave the hint, said the budget proposal did not make any provision for kerosene subsidy.
The Federal Government spent N634bn to subsidise the retail price of kerosene in the past three years.
The Chairman, House Committee on
Petroleum (Downstream), Mr. Dakuku Peterside, who recently condemned
this as wasteful spending, also said N110bn was spent on kerosene
subsidy in 2010, N324bn in 2011 and N200bn in 2012, which came up to
N634bn in the three years.
He said, “In the year 2010, we spent
N110,068,533,988 to subsidise kerosene. This is not the cost of kerosene
but the cost of subsidising the product alone. In 2011, it got worse
and the government spent N324,089,961,319 on kerosene subsidy. Although
we have yet to reconcile this, we spent N200bn in subsidising kerosene
in 2012.
“So, in three years, we have spent N634bn subsidising kerosene. This is one third of what we spend in a year on capital budget.”
Despite the huge spending on Kerosene
subsidy, the masses could not, until recently, buy the product at the
regulated price of N40.90k per litre.
They had settled for alternative sources of energy such as firewood, charcoal, sawdust, electricity and gas.
However, this has recently changed as the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, through the Independent
Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Depot and Petroleum
Products Marketers Association, has been selling kerosene at N50 per
litre.
Culled - Punch
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