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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said the Federal Government would
save to up to $5 billion (about N1 trillion) from the crash of crude oil
price, as it would no longer have to pay for subsidy for Premium Motor
Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol.
Professor Osinbajo stated this Yesterday during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
He said, “Lower oil prices also mean there is some advantage. The
decline means that we are not paying any subsidies, which frees up
something in the order of about $5 billion.”
He however, noted that Nigeria would still face challenges in
financing its budget deficit and aims to increase value-added tax and
customs duty collection to help plug the gap.
“We think with adequate governance around budget management and
around expenditure management, we can do quite a bit. If we are able to
do those things, we might be able to come away with under $30 per barrel
oil,” Osinbajo said.
In the meantime, despite the gains to the country, the low price of
crude oil has continued to take its toll on companies in Nigeria, as
Shoreline Group, an operator in the Nigerian energy sector, yesterday,
said it would sack 700 of its staff.
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