Coronavirus: Senate Considers Subsidy Removal, Naira Devaluation

The Senate says it is considering removal of petrol subsidy and devaluation of the naira to help combat the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the country.

This was made known in the interim report of the Senate Joint Committee on Finance, Appropriations, National Planning, and Petroleum Resources (Upstream) which was set up last week to liaise with relevant agencies of the Federal Government to proffer a way forward for the country following the ravaging effects of COVID-19 on world economy.

Apart from devaluation of the Naira and removal of fuel subsidy, the upper chamber noted that the review of the Appropriation Act 2020 as passed by the National Assembly is inevitable.

Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Solomon Adeola, in the report, said that the committee during its inaugural meeting with the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, considered a wide range of issues.

The Senate adopted the recommendations contained in the interim report of the joint committee which include:

• review of the 2020 budget as had been passed by the national assembly which appears inevitable;
• reconsidering the number of agencies and parastatals of the government as was recommended in the Oronsanye report;
• loss of revenue worth billions of dollars due to gas flaring and some others; and
• removal of fuel subsidy, devaluation of the Naira and some other sundry issues.

Other recommendations included: “That the review of the Appropriation Act 2020 as passed by the National Assembly is inevitable, but the modalities to be adopted in the review of the budget must be as suggested by the legislative and the executive arm of government.