The federal government of Nigeria has revealed that it will pay N5,000 to 10 million households for six months as palliative for removing petrol subsidy after June.Information Guide Nigeria

This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed at the Nigerian briefing on the sideline of the World Bank/ International Monetary Fund spring meetings in Washington DC on Sunday.

According to BUSINESS HALLMARK, the minister said, “Once the parliament approves it, we roll. We have also been doing preparatory work side by side along the approval process. And that includes the building of the social register, which will be used for the electronic transfers of the funds.”NYSC Portal

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She noted, “We needed to have this ready because when the government eventually removes the fuel subsidy, there will be an immediate transport palliative that will be provided to the most vulnerable members of our society who have been identified, registered, and now contained in our national social register.”

Zainab Ahmed said the effort is led by the Ministry of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development. “They developed that register with the support of the World Bank. The register has about 10 million households, equivalent to 50 million Nigerians.”

As reported by BUSINESS HALLMARK, she explained that the initial design is to disburse cash transfers of N5,000 per month per household for a period of six months.

She added, “So, whether this is enough is an assessment that we are undertaking with the transition team. If it’s not enough, the country has to raise additional resources to be able to cover more people, extend the period or increase the amount; whichever is finally negotiated upon.

“When the subsidy is removed, there would be additional revenue that would now accrue to the Federation account.”

She further stated: “Anywhere in the world where you remove any kind of subsidy, it has that effect. That is why that initial fund is necessary so that you are deploying it quickly and reducing the impact on the lives of the most vulnerable people in our society.”

Speaking on debt sustainability, Zainab Ahmed, debt was one of the main things that were discussed throughout the sessions at the World Bank, adding that because of high inflation globally and the continuous quantitative easing the central banks globally are undertaking, interest rates continue to rise.JAMB Result

“So, if you have taken a foreign debt, your debt cost rises without you doing anything. So, we all have these challenges such that what you have planned in budget and provided for just keeps changing because interest rates keep changing.”

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