The President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal government was unsuccessful in its efforts to remove the highly contentious subsidy on petrol yesterday when it disclosed plan to recommend an 18-month extension of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to the National Assembly.
This clearly means that the burden of the policy which has been described as a major drain and waste of resources would be shifted to the next administration from May 29, 2023, if the National Assembly approves an extension of the PIA’s implementation.
The government’s inability to take the tough decision on the subsidy issue is bound to have massive consequence on the overall implementation of the PIA.
The implementation of the PIA which stipulates the removal of petrol subsidy ought to be in February 2022 and was later shifted to July 2022. However, due to pressure and threats of protests by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the decision was earlier on Monday suspended.
