RMAFC supports petrol subsidy removal, makes damaging claim against NNPC

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has reaffirmed its support for President Bola Tinubu’s decision to end the petrol subsidy.

The RMAFC chairman, Mohammed Shehu, announced this in a statement on Thursday.

During his inaugural address on May 29, Tinubu had said “subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources”.

Since the speech, Nigeria’s economy has taken a tilt, aligning towards post-subsidy realities as citizens wade through the ripple effects of high petrol prices.

Also Read: As devaluation bets spiral, value of Naira falls to record low

Shehu claimed in the statement that since the panel was chaired by the late Hamman Tukur during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo, former president, the commission had constantly stated its view on the abolition of petrol subsidies.

According to the RMAFC Chairman, the agency’s stance was supported by the idea that the ongoing “payment of humongous amounts to a privileged few in the name of subsidy” was a significant drain on the country’s limited resources.

Shehu claimed that the subsidy system had caused the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, one of the biggest contributors to the federal account, to discontinue making payments.

“As one of the fourteen 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,” he said.

The chairman described the president’s pronouncement on the elimination of the petrol subsidy as a masterstroke that broke the jinx.

This, he said, was the appropriate step in the right direction.

“The country can no longer sustain fuel subsidies whose demerits far outweigh its benefits to the citizenry. It is saddening to note that since 1 January 2022, to date, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has not been contributing to the federation account due to the claimed subsidy payments,” he said.