The Group Chief executive officer (GCEO) of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr Mele Kyari, has expressed apprehension over unremitted N2.8 trillion outstanding fiscal obligations on petrol subsidy to the Company.
He said this after a meeting with members of National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja over agitations by Nigerians arising from petrol pump price increase by the federal government.
Kyari revealed that the multinational company won’t continue to be sole importer of oil in the Country, assuring that President Tinubu has approved palliatives to cushion the effect of removal of the policy.
“For any company, when you have negative N2.8 trillion, there is no company in the whole of Africa that will lend to you. You cannot have receivables. The provision of subsidy is there but absolutely there is no funding for it. It means it is only on paper. So, it doesn’t exist.
“So we no longer can bear it because of liquidity. If we continue we will run into defaults and the defaults of NNPC is the default of Nigeria.
“Once NNPC goes into defaults and liquidity, it affects every borrowing done by the country. Even the sub-nationals. Your lenders will come back to you and say your Country can no longer pay.
“Before today, the average subsidy level was N400 billion every month. That means every month you can do one major capital project from money that you do not have. This is really what it means. There is nothing anybody can do about it. There is this common argument that the masses will suffer”, he said.
Kyari emphasized that there was provision for subsidy in 2022, not a single Naira was provided to finance the subsidy in 2023.
According to him, “And ultimately, while we held back our fiscal obligations, we still have a net balance of over N2.8 trillion that the federation should have given back to the NNPC.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had announced the removal of petrol subsidy while delivering his inaugural speech on Monday.
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