NEITI to conduct study on petrol consumption rate in Nigeria

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) says it will conduct a study to determine the actual consumption of petrol in Nigeria, stressing that the high PMS consumption figures being released by some agencies of government were not correct.

The Executive Secretary, NEITI, Ogbonnaya Orji, disclosed this in Abuja while speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Stakeholders Validation Workshop on the 2022 Annual Progress Report for Nigeria’s Extractive Industries.

“For a very long time, my disposition has been for the removal of subsidy. And this government, right from day one has taken that bold step. There shouldn’t be any going back.

“We should move forward from there and then put in place a robust arrangement that will show a clear departure from the way and manner we have operated under subsidy. Nigerians want to see what will change when the subsidy is no more.

“And we have highlighted this because we know that subsidies put a lot of impediments on transparency and accountability in the management of revenues from the oil and gas industry over the years,” he stated.

Orji stated that NEITI knew that subsidy removal would throw up a lot of other issues, adding that “one of those issues that we know will happen is the actual consumption figure (of petrol).”

The NEITI boss, however, stated that some steps should be taken to cushion the immediate effects that subsidy removal has brought on the Nigerian people especially, the vulnerable, and less privileged, who were spread across the working and non-working class.

“We just need the impact of this subsidy removal to reflect in the improvement of the general well-being of Nigerians and in our social infrastructure…we are calling for a robust arrangement be put in place to show Nigerians the impact of subsidy removal in terms of roads built, infrastructure, access to health, education, etc,” he added. 

Punch/Hauwa Abu