*Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister for Information and Culture, says several other countries were introducing measures to help their citizens cope with high oil energy prices, and Nigeria could not be an exception

Gbenga Kayode | 绿帽献妻

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Honourable for Minister Information and Culture, stated that the Federal Government of Nigeria, at the moment, cannot remove subsidy on the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol.

The Minister, who spoke during an exclusive interview with Reuters in London, United Kingdom (UK), said several other countries were introducing measures to help citizens cope with high oil energy prices, hence Nigeria as Africa鈥檚 most populous country could not be an exception.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Honourable for Minister Information and Culture

Mohammed also explained that the country is Africa鈥檚 largest oil exporter, but still has to import almost all its fuel needs due to a lack of refining capacity.

Recall that the Federal Government had shelved plans to abolish fuel subsidies earlier 2022, in a controversial move that raised concerns with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the time.

鈥淲hen you consider the chaos, the social disharmony and 鈥� instability such an action (abolishing subsidies) would facilitate, is it worth it? I don鈥檛 think so,鈥� he stated.

The Minister, however, noted he believes that a new industry law (Petroleum Industry Act) that allocates money to oil-producing communities would stop attacks, as he blamed the European Union鈥檚 (EU) climate change policies for stifling investment in the oil and gas sector.

鈥淲e believe that climate change is real and important for emission control, but there is a bit of double standard in the EU policy regarding climate change,鈥� said the Minister.

Besides attacks on oil infrastructure, Mohammed further stated that several parts of the Northern Nigeria are plagued by violence orchestrated by bandits.

Dozens of innocent people were killed in church attacks in Kaduna and Ondo States June this year, he explained.

Mohammed said: 鈥淲e are leaving the country much more secure than we met it,” adding, President Muhammadu Buhari鈥檚 administration has made progress made against Boko Haram since 2015.

According to him, Nigeria suffers intermittent fuel shortages and has raised its deficit forecast twice this year and increased borrowing to cover the cost of the subsidy.

The country鈥檚 petroleum production has also fallen short of government targets, with $1billion in revenue lost to crude oil theft in the first quarter of this year, according to the sector regulator.

In a related development, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has expressed over the rising incidents of vandalism and theft along the key pipeline conveying refined petroleum products to Mosimi, Ibadan, Ore and Ilorin fuel depots.

Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NMDPRA, noted this when the top executives of the South-West Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) visited him in Abuja, FCT.

As Nigeria suffers intermittent fuel shortages and has raised its deficit forecast twice this year amid increased borrowing to cover the cost of the subsidy, the West African country’s petroleum production has also fallen short of government targets, report said.

The country incurred $1 billion in revenue loss to crude oil theft in the first quarter of 2022, said NMDPRA.