Nigeria Terminates FX and Fuel Subsidies Officially

Nigeria has formally announced that its fuel and foreign exchange (FX) subsidy programs are ending.

The official announcement was made on Thursday in Abuja by Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.

“Fuel and FX subsidy are extinguished,” said Edun in remarks made during the World Bank’s presentation of the Nigeria Development Update. He disclosed that Nigeria lost about N10 trillion—or five percent of its GDP—due to the gasoline and foreign exchange subsidies.

At the same time, he revealed the government’s intention to combat homelessness and unemployment by introducing a new mortgage program with interest rates that are almost single digits.

“Housing and mortgage financing will be the plan’s main pillars,” Edun stated, adding that the mortgage program would encourage building.

activities and create jobs.

Bala Mohammed, the governor of Bauchi State, voiced his concerns about the inadequate funding provided to state governments by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

“State governments cannot provide infrastructure with the amount of money they receive from FAAC each month,” he said.

Mohammed criticized federal policies, pointing out that they had diminished Nigerians’ purchasing power. He said, “These policies are not working,” pointing out the suffering that the general public was experiencing.

Governor Mohammed commented on the introduction of the new N70,000 minimum salary and noted that although states abide by the law, it is still very difficult to pay for necessary infrastructure after meeting the new wage requirement.

While some states are able to afford N70,000, others cannot. In Bauchi State, we are maintaining the previous minimum wage rigidly. The new minimum wage will be paid as soon as practicable. We’re going to be lynched,” he declared.