By Ubong Sampson
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has disclosed plans by the Federal Government to remove fuel subsidy by 2022 and replace same with a N5,000 monthly transportation grant to the poorest Nigerians.
Making the disclosure while speaking at the launch of the World Bank Nigeria Development Update, NDU, on Tuesday, the minster the grant will go to about 20 to 40 million Nigerians who make up the poorest part of the country’s population.
According to Ahmed, the final number of beneficiaries will depend on the resources available after the removal of the fuel subsidy.
She said: “We are working with our partners on measures to cushion potential negative impact of the removal of the subsidies on the most vulnerable at the bottom 40 per cent of the population.
“One of such measures would be to institute a monthly transport subsidy in the form of cash transfer of N5,000 to between 30 to 40 million deserving Nigerians.
“I agree with the report that with the expansion of social protection policies during the pandemic, the government has an opportunity to phase out subsidies such as the petroleum subsidy while utilising cash transfers to safeguard the welfare of poor and middle-class households.
“Towards this end, we intend to accelerate our structural reforms, particularly in the power sector, in governance, in business environment to unlock the huge potentials of the economy, scale up social safety net and deepen financial inclusion to reduce poverty and inequality gaps.”
