This is despite the commitment by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to rehabilitate the country’s four refineries to stop importation of petroleum products.
Despite the pledge by former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, that Nigeria would end petrol importation by 2019, government would again spend about N450bn next year on fuel subsidy.
This is despite the commitment by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to rehabilitate the country’s four refineries to stop importation of petroleum products.
The Minister for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, announced the subsidy amount in Abuja at the public presentation of the 2020 budget details.
She said a provision of N450bn had been made for 'under-recovery' of cost in respect of the importation of Premium Motor Spirit popularly called petrol.
She said, “A provision has been made in the budget for under-recovery for PMS (premium motor spirit) in the sum of N450bn provided in the fiscal framework.
“It is under-recovery because it is a cost operation for the NNPC.”
Recall that in May 2017, Kachikwu vowed to resign if Nigeria continued to import fuel by 2019.
He was one of the ministers not reappointed by President Muhammadu Buhari when he named his new cabinet after his re-election.
Speaking during an interview on BBC World Service programme, HardTalk, anchored by Stephen Sackur, he said 2019 had been set for the target.
When questioned about when the country will be self-sufficient in terms of refining petroleum, Kachikwu said, “2019 is the target time… I target 2019. If I don’t achieve it, I will walk… I put the date and I will achieve it.”
Kachikwu however, ended the first term tenure with President Buhari without resigning his appointment as promised.
New Target
The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, last month spoke on the full rehabilitation of country’s four refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna.
Kyari, who unfolded the schedule for the refineries’ repairs during a tour of the Port-Harcourt Refining and Petrochemical Company, said the exercise is scheduled to commence in January next year.
He said the corporation was determined to ensure the refineries achieved optimum refining capacity by 2022.
He said, “We will stick to the schedule. We will deliver this project by 2022. We will commence actual rehabilitation work in January next year.
“We will do everything possible between October and December this year to close out all necessary conditions for us to deliver on the project.”