President Bola Tinubu has given his consent to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to use the 2023 final dividends owed to the federation to cover the cost of petrol subsidies.
It will be recalled that the President during his inaugural address on May 29, 2023 announced the removal of fuel subsidy.
In addition, the president has also approved a halt on the payment of 2024 interim dividends to the federation to help boost NNPC’s cash flow.
NNPC informed the president that, due to the subsidy payments, it is currently unable to pay taxes and royalties into the federation account, referring to this as a “subsidy shortfall/FX differential.”
Business Day reports that forecast from NNPC, has indicated that the total petrol subsidy expenses from August 2023 to December 2024 will amount to N6.884 trillion, leaving the company unable to remit N3.987 trillion in taxes and royalties to the federation account.
