Despite initial plans by the Federal Government to remove energy subsidy over hike in national spending, Nigeria is going to spend about N 4trillion to subsidize the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, in the 2022 fiscal year.
This is as the National Assembly has passed amendments to the 2022 Appropriation Act which raised the subsidy on petrol from the initial budgeted N3.557trn to N4trn, accounting for a N442.72bn increase.
The Senate and the House of Representatives, during their respective plenary on Thursday considered and adopted request made by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Recall that Buhari in separate letters addressed to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, requested for the adjustment of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) to accommodate the projected N4 trillion for petroleum subsidy in 2022.
Buhari said the adjustments to the 2022 Fiscal Framework include an increase in the projected oil price benchmark by $11 per barrel, from $62 per barrel to $73 per barrel; a reduction in the projected oil production volume by 283,000 barrels per day, from 1.883 million barrels per day to 1.600 million barrels per day; an increase in the estimated provision for PMS subsidy for 2022 by N442.72bn, from N3.557tn to N4tn.
During Thursday’s plenary, the National Assembly enacted revisions to the 2022 Appropriation Act and the 2022 Fiscal Framework.
Both houses also approved a new $73 per barrel oil price benchmark, a new oil production volume of 1.600 million barrels per day, and a N4 trillion PMS subsidy.
