VAM News Update

THE federal government has announced a N5 billion palliative for each state of the federation, including the federal capital territory (FCT), to cushion the impact of the removal of the petrol subsidy.

State governors will also receive five Trucks of rice and have also been mandated to purchase 100,000bags of rice, beans among other food items.

Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno state, made the announcement in Abuja on Thursday when he spoke to State House correspondents at the end of a national economic council (NEC) meeting.

Vice President Kashim Shettima presided over the meeting.

The council is made up of governors of the 36 states, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (BN) and other coopted government Officials

On May 29, in his inaugural speech, President Bola Tinubu said the petrol subsidy regime was over.

“On fuel subsidy, unfortunately, the budget before I assumed office is that no provision is there for fuel subsidy. So, fuel subsidy is gone,” the president had said.

Following Tinubu’s comments, huge queues resurfaced at filling stations in some parts of Nigeria — a situation the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) blamed on panic buying.

On July 30, the federal government said it was working on measures to ease the effect of petrol subsidy removal on the masses.