After denying return of subsidy, NNPC finally confirms payments

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says the federal government owes it N7.8 trillion for petrol subsidy.

NNPC’s disclosure comes after denying the existence of petrol subsidy on Monday.

TheCable had reported that President Bola Tinubu approved a request by NNPC to utilise the 2023 final dividends due to the federation to pay for the petrol subsidy.

However, Umar Ajiya, NNPC’s chief financial officer, 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 is owed N7.8 trillion ($4.9 billion) by the government in subsidy debts from January to July.

Ajiya said the government will allow NNPC to offset about N2.2 trillion it owes 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.

On August 15, 2023, TheCable reported that President Bola Tinubu was 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.

Also, on January 3, NNPC denied the return of petrol subsidy, saying it had been removed entirely.

However, on April 15, Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna state, said the federal government is spending more on petrol subsidy than before.

Also, Gabriel Ogbechie, chief executive officer of Rainoil Limited, on April 17, claimed the government now spends N600 billion on petrol subsidy monthly.