Senate Approves Buhari’s N4trn Request For Petrol Subsidy

The Nigerian Senate has approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s request of N4 trillion for subsidy payment on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol.

Naija News recalls the Nigerian leader had sent the request to the National Assembly as part of the revision of the 2021 fiscal framework.

The President had requested the lawmakers to approve an additional N3.557 trillion in addition to the N442.72 billion provided in the 2022 budget for subsidy.

During plenary on Thursday, the Red Chamber approved the president’s request after considering reports from its Committee on Finance.

The committee revised the 2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) to accommodate the request.

Members of the Senate also set an oil benchmark of $73 per barrel and approved the reduction in crude oil production to 1.6 million barrels per day.

They also approved an increase of the federal government revenue of N400 billion and cut funding for upstream projects from N352 billion to N200 billion.

The lawmakers also approved the sum of N182 billion to cater to the needs of the Nigeria Police Force and N76.13 billion for the servicing of domestic debts.

The Senate also approved a net reduction in statutory transfers by N66.07 billion.

Speaking after the report was approved in the upper legislative chamber, Senate President Ahmad Lawan said it is imperative that the country’s economy be diversified.

Lawan called for the stoppage of the importation of refined products in Nigeria and asked the country to stop its dependence on the oil industry.

Earlier, the House of Representatives had approved the N4 trillion for subsidy payment on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol as requested by President Muhammadu Buhari.