The Federal Government yesterday approved the payment of N407.07billion as fuel subsidy to oil marketers.
The approval by the Federal Government is coming as fuel queues were building up at feeling stations across the country, creating hardship for Nigerians, who go to petrol stations to queue only to come back with no fuel to buy.
With this approval the lengthy queues experienced would disappear the moment the money owed oil marketers are paid.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, confirmed the approval in a statement issued by the Director, Press in the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Marshal Gundu.
Adeosun further disclosed that the payment covers arrears from the 2014 financial year as well as payments for the current year.
She further explained that the directive for payment was issued by President Muhammadu Buhari put an end to the lingering fuel scarcity in the across country.
She appealed to oil marketers to as a matter of urgency commence distribution of petrol to ensure that Nigerians do not suffer any more at the petrol stations.
According to the statement, “The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has confirmed payment of N407, 076,805,386.30 for subsidy claims to oil marketers so as to end the lingering fuel situation. The Minister stated that the President has directed that payments be made immediately in order to bring to a quick end the lingering fuel crisis which has caused great suffering to Nigerian families and businesses.”
The minister stated that despite the dwindling revenue profile, the Federal Government was committed to ensuring continuous availability of fuel to Nigerians.
“The payments include arrears from the 2014 financial year as well as payments for the current year. It is expected that the recipients would ensure adequate supply of fuel to end the persistent fuel shortage in the nation. With this action which shows that government is fully committed to meeting its financial obligations in respect of fuel subsidy, the Minister further implored the major oil marketers to reciprocate the action by doing all they can to bring the fuel scarcity to an end.” The statement further explained.
Already, www.AbelNews.com Correspondent observed that in most of the petrol stations along the Lagos –Abeokuta Expressway, there were no much queues, compared to last week, when most of the petrol filling stations were locked due to unavailability of the product.
