Nigeria: finance minister rules out return of subsidies on petrol imports
Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings, which close on Sunday 18 October in Bangkok, Nigerian finance minister Taiwo Oyedele said there would be no return to subsidies on petrol imports or to multiple exchange rates. He acknowledged that the recent cut in petrol prices at stations of the state oil company NNPC had created confusion and raised questions among investors, rating agencies and multilateral institutions, and said the federal state had spent nothing on the measure, with NNPC network stations selling at cost price for an initial 30 days. An IMF official had warned on Wednesday 14 October against reinstating the subsidies, which were removed in May 2023 shortly after President Bola Tinubu took office.
Why it matters: The decision bears on the briefing's energy-subsidy and fiscal-policy theme, since it fixes the Nigerian government's position on fuel pricing ahead of the 2027 elections and against IMF advice.