Two days after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggested the stoppage of electricity subsidies in Nigeria, the government is already considering discontinuing the subsidy.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said at a press briefing on Wednesday that it has become “very difficult to sustain subsidy on electricity” because of the subsidy debt hanging on the neck of the Nigerian government.
The government’s debt to electricity-generating companies is running in trillions. It currently stands at N1.3 trillion (US$867,218,690), according to Adelabu.
The Minister revealed that only N450 billion (US$300,191,085) was budgeted for power subsidy in the country’s national budget for 2024.
In his words, “What we have made provision for in the 2024 budget for subsidy is N450bn and we will require N2.9 trillion (US$1,934,564,770) for subsidy this year. So can we afford it? We must be realistic. Can we afford it?”
Adebayo’s new position on the electricity subsidy is shocking to many Nigerians. Just last November, he had insisted on the subsidy because removing it amounts to causing “additional burden on Nigerians.”
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
