The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has blatantly denied advising President Bola Tinubu’s administration to remove subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.
According to the global financial institution, the decision to end the subsidy regime was a move holistically made by the Nigerian government.
Mr Abebe Selassie, IMF’s African Region Director, disclosed this on Friday at the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC, United States.
He said, “The decision was a domestic one. We don’t have programmes in Nigeria. Our role is limited to regular dialogue, as we have with other nations like Japan or the UK”
NewsBand reported that President Bola Tinubu during his inauguration speech in May 2023, announced that fuel “subsidy is gone”.
The abrupt removal immediately led to a rise in the cost of petrol across the country. From about ₦200 per litre, the product is selling for about ₦1,200 in several parts of Nigeria.
Also, months after, Tinubu’s government floated the country’s currency (Naira) as part of reforms to rejig the bad economy.
Moreover, the two economic policies led to a tremendous rise in the cost of living. The price of essential commodities soared with inflation reaching 32.72 per cent, unfortunately pushing basic items beyond the reach of millions of Nigerians.
Though, in the face of scorching economic hardship in the country, Tinubu has repeatedly called for patience from Nigerians but insisted there is no going back on the reforms.
Mr Tinubu believes his government’s reforms will be impactful to Nigerians in the long run and has in the interim introduced a series of interventionist measures to tackle the effects of the policies.
The IMF African Region Director has lauded these policies and wants the Federal Government to roll out more programmes to protect vulnerable groups against the effects of the reforms.
“We recognize the significant social costs involved,” Abebe said. “The government can mitigate these by expanding social protection for the most vulnerable.”