The World Bank has warned Nigeria against any further delay in removing the fuel subsidy.
The bank described as a major drain and waste on the economy, could see the federal and state governments unable to pay salaries from 2022.
The World Bank has for years made serious inputs on how many global economies are run.
The multilateral institution advises government on fiscal prudence, revenue generation, exchange rate policies and debts.
One of the several issues that the bank has constantly followed up on Nigeria is removal of subsidy on petrol.
The Lead Economist, Nigeria Country office of the World Bank, Marco Antonio Hernandez, painted a gloomy picture of Nigeria if the country decides to continue with the controversial fuel subsidy, while unveiling the Nigeria Development Update (NDU), a bi-annual report of the multilateral institution, at an event that held in Abuja as well as virtual.
Also, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, during a panel session at the event, lamented the huge burden the continuous retention of the subsidy on petrol had been to the corporation, warning that going forward, “the NNPC may have to start invoicing the federation to be able to maintain subsidy.”
This is just as the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, reiterated that the government was working on introducing measures that would cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal on vulnerable Nigerians.
