Fuel subsidy: FG promises N5bn palliatives for all states, FCT

Each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would receive N5 billion as a palliative from the federal government to ease the blow of the elimination of the petrol subsidy.

During a Q&A with State House media in Abuja on Thursday after a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum made the announcement.

On Thursday, Vice President Kashim Shettima presided over a meeting of the NEC.

The rising cost of food products and transit, among other things, as a result of subsidy elimination has been a major issue, according to Zulum, who reported that NEC convened and voiced these concerns.

The federal government delivered five trucks of rice to each State last week to help ease the transition away from subsidies.

In addition, Zulum stated, “the federal government approved the sum of N5 billion to be given to each State to procure 100,000 bags of rice, 40,000 bags of maize, and fertilisers to cushion the effect of food shortages across the country.”

The money, he said, would be divided as follows: “52% of this money is given to states as grants, and 48% of the N5 billion is to be paid back on an instalment basis to the CBN by the States and the local government’s areas in Nigeria within 20 months.”

The Governor stated that the Council has recognised the President Tinubu-led federal government’s and Central Bank of Nigeria’s efforts to mitigate the impact of subsidy removal by allocating an estimated N500 billion.

He remarked, “This money has to be divided up between the manufacturing, small and medium enterprise, industrial, agricultural and bus gas expansion sectors.”