Isa Yuguda, a former governor of Bauchi State, has stated that, despite official statements to the contrary, the federal government still provides subsidies for petroleum products. This information comes after President Bola Tinubu announced last year that there will be no fuel subsidy payments, and that the 2023 budget would not include any such provisions.
Yuguda questioned the government’s stance on the issue in an interview that aired on Politics Today on Monday. “The fuel subsidy is gone,” President Tinubu declared strongly in his inaugural speech, insisting that payments for subsidies were no longer justified.
According to Channels Television, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also weighed in on the issue, advising Nigeria to completely phase out costly fuel and electricity subsidies as part of broader economic measures. However, Yuguda’s assertion contradicts the official narrative, suggesting that subsidy payments persist.
“If the IMF says we are paying subsidy, then we are,” Yuguda declared during the interview. He went on to clarify that the subsidy removed was the one flowing into private pockets, emphasizing the need to distinguish between legitimate subsidies that benefit the public and those that serve vested interests.
“The subsidy that was removed was the one that was going into private pockets, and I decoupled that subsidy that ordinarily shouldn’t have been paid,” Yuguda explained.
