The Federal Government owes the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited N7.8 trillion for petrol subsidy, the Company disclosed on Monday.
NNPC’s Revelation came after denying the existence of petrol subsidy.
President Bola Ahned Tinubu had approved a request by NNPC to utilise the 2023 final dividends due to the Federation to pay for the petrol subsidy.
However, Umar Ajiya, Chief Financial Officer of NNPC’, during a media briefing on the company’s 2023 audited financial statements (AFS) in Abuja, said the company was only “taking care of the shortfall on petrol importation between it and the Federation”.
After the public denial, Ajiya told Bloomberg, after the company announced its results, that NNPC was owed N7.8 trillion ($4.9 billion) by the government in subsidy debts from January to July.
Ajiya said the government would allow NNPC offset about N2.2 trillion it owed the country against the subsidy debt.
In June, when fiscal policy documents were in circulation, which cited N5.4 trillion petrol subsidy provision for 2023, Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating minister of the Economy, said the documents were not approved by the government.
President Bola Tinubu was reportedly considering a “temporary subsidy” on petrol as crude oil prices and foreign exchange rates.
However, Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, said there was no reintroduction of subsidy.
On January 3 also, NNPC denied the return of petrol subsidy, saying it had been removed entirely.
However, Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna state, on April 15, said the Federal Government was spending more on petrol subsidy than before.
Gabriel Ogbechie, Chief Executive Officer of Rainoil Limited, on April 17, also claimed the government then spent N600 billion on petrol subsidy monthly.