Governors want oil subsidy payment determined by states

Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari

Governors of the states of the federation want states rather than the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to determine how much is paid as subsidy by the government.

This is as they raise questions over the amount the NNPC claims that it is paying as a subsidy as well as the corporation’s stated quantity of local consumption which the forum is now disputing.
With dwindling accruals to states, NNPC has told the governors that it is now paying subsidy on 60 million litres daily consumption up from 33 million litres a few months ago.

Not satisfied with the corporation’s explanation, the governors under the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) have now said the individual state will determine the quantity of the product consumed in its territory as a basis for calculating the subsidy to be paid.
Emerging from a meeting of the Forum last night in Abuja, its chairman and Zamfara state governor, Abdulaziz Yari, told reporters that “if states say our demand is 30 million litres, you cannot say you bought 60 million litres for us.
“We are taking every situation carefully so that we don’t endanger the security situation of the country and at the same time, we do not play into the hands of the NNPC.”
He said however that the governors will not be pushing for the investigation of NNPC as the move may backfire.
Yari explained: “You see, we are in the hands of these people (NNPC) and we are trying to be cautious. Not just NNPC, even Nigerians are not helping matters because when there is a shortfall in the product, everybody will start making noise. And you will not know why there is a shortfall.
“If we start to investigate, these people will create chaos that we will regret and Nigerians will not look at the damage from the base. But rather, they will start accusing the government of laxity or not doing what it is supposed to be doing.

“So, it’s not about an investigation. It’s about knowing what’s going to happen to future supply.  And this supply, the destination must be set.
“That’s is why we gave the states the responsibility to go back and ascertain the quantity needed by each and every state.”
The National Economic Council (NEC) led by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is expected to endorse the move.