FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RETAINS SUBSIDY IN 2022 BUDGET

GMD of the NNPC, Mr. Mele Kyari has now reveled that petroleum subsidy is provided for in the 2022 budget.

He made this clear on Wednesday at the opening of a three day public hearing on the 2022 to 2024 Medium term expenditure framework (MTEF) & the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

The public hearing which was organised by the senate in a bid to examine the two fiscal documents that provide the basis for the annual national budget.

Mr. Kyari also assured Nigerians that stakeholders’ engagement is still ongoing to ascertain when and how best to implement a hike in the pump price of PMS which currently stands at =N=162 per litre.

According to him, the reason the subsidy was provided in the 2022 budget was because it is not very clear if the stakeholders’ engagement would end before the second quarter of 2022.

Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, representatives of the government, and civil society organisations were among the stakeholders involved in the engagement.

Chairman of the senate committee on Finance, Senator Adeola Olamilekan, informed the participants that the public hearing will enable the Lawmakers understand the rationale behind the various parameters for the 2022 budget as contained in the MTEF & FSP.