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The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has lend its support to the Federal government’s removal of fuel subsidy just as it called on the President and Commander In Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to work out strategies with robust palliatives that would cushion the attendant effect of the new policy on the masses.
RMAFC Chairman, Mr. Mohammed Bello Shehu, in a statement on Thursday said that the Commission had consistently expressed its position on the vexatious issue of subsidy removal since the time of late Hamman Tukur who chaired the Commission during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
President Tinubu had during his inaugural address announced the removal, describing it as “long overdue and a major challenge to the economic growth and development of the country.”
Shehu noted that the continued payment of humongous amounts to a privileged few in the name of subsidy was a major drain on the nation’s scarce resources as the Nigeria National Petroleum Company limited (NNPCL), one of the major sources of revenue to the Federation Account had since stopped contributing to the national purse due to the fuel subsidy regime which is characterized by opaqueness and other ambiguities.
Part of the statement expressly explained that “As one of the 14 Federal Executive Bodies established by section 153 (1)(n) and empowered by paragraph 32 (a) and (c) of part 1 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), RMAFC has the constitutional mandate to monitor the accruals to and disbursement of Revenue from the Federation Account and also advise Federal and State Governments on fiscal efficiency and methods by which their revenue can be increased.
“The removal was a master stroke that broke the jinx adding that it is the appropriate step in the right direction considering it was not embedded in the budgetary provision for subsidy.
“The country can no longer sustain fuel subsidies whose demerits far outweigh its benefits to the citizenry. It is saddening to note that since 1st January, 2022 to date, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has not been contributing to the Federation Account due to the claimed subsidy payments.
“The total amount withheld by the NNPCL as claimed subsidies for this period amounted to N8,480,204,553,608.13 as reported by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation(OAGF) which is yet to be reconciled by the RMAFC, OAGF, and NNPCL”.
Shehu reiterated that in a situation where the records of subsidy transactions are not transparent and crude oil prices are being determined globally, it would be unwise to sustain the phantom payments of subsidy at the detriment of other critical sectors of the economy thus making its sustainability difficult for the Government.
He further emphasized that the removal of fuel subsidies would eliminate the alleged uncertainty surrounding the subsidy regime just as it would free funds for the execution of critical national development and human capital enhancement projects such as the provision of an affordable transport system, Investment in the Education Sector, improvement in Health care and infrastructural development, and resuscitation of domestic Refineries to eliminate dependence on imported fuel, amongst other key sectors.
However, the Commission’s Chairman praised the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari for providing the necessary enabling environment for the successful take-off of the first private refinery built by Alhaji Aliko Dangote, believing that when it becomes operational, the country would witness a glorious dawn in hassle-free oil production and distribution in the absence of subsidy regime.
He called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government to ensure that all the economic saboteurs that contributed to our National adversity are punished in accordance with the extant laws of the Federation.
