"Fuel subsidy can no longer be sustained" - Petroleum Minister, Alison-Madueke

About a week after she told federal lawmakers that the federal government had no plans to remove subsidy on petrol, the Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, said on Tuesday that payment of subsidy on petrol ‘cannot be sustained any longer.’

Mrs. Alison-Madueke stated this at the ongoing Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja.

“The continued regulation of the downstream sector has its positive and negative impact on the economy, but the negative effect is more than the positive,” the minister said.

“The subsidy policy cannot be sustained any longer.

“This is because the subsidy payment did not benefit the poor it was targeting, but rather it is benefiting the rich,” she added.

Mrs. Alison-Madueke said there was the need to deregulate the downstream oil sector to attract investors.

She said that in considering the deregulation of the downstream sector, government must strike a balance in implementing some of its policies to meet the needs of Nigerians.

“Now that reforms in power sector are underway, the next focus should be reforms in the downstream sub-sector.

“The industry needs to move to next level by increasing revenue and curb oil theft and pipeline vandalism,” she said.