FG spends N52.5bn on fuel subsidy monthly

THE  Federal Government has disclosed that gas flaring will end in 2012, as it spends a whopping $350 million monthly on petroleum subsidy.Mr Chime Ibenechie, Managing Director of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas  (NLNG), speaking at the opening ceremony of the fourth annual conference of the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics, which began, on Thursday, in Abuja, disclosed that the government spends, on a monthly basis, a whopping $350 million on fuel subsidyDisclosing that this is quite unacceptable,  Ibenechie said the huge money spent on fuel subsidy could be deployed in other areas of needs, such as the provision of infrastructure and gas projects.Commending the association for choosing the theme, Green Energy and Energy Security: Options for Africa, Ibenechie expressed the need for economists to think about balancing the confusing paradox in the petroleum industry.In his remarks at the event, Dr Emmanuel O. Egboga, Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Petroleum Matters, stated that the country would end gas flaring by 2012According to him, Nigeria recorded a 50 per cent reduction in gas flaring in 2010, disclosing that by the end of 2012, gas flaring in the country would be a subject of the past .Stressing the importance of the Petroleum Industry Bill to Nigeria, Dr Egboga promised all stakeholders in the petroleum industry that the National Assembly would pass the bill into law before its tenure elapses in May.Dr Egboga, who dismissed the possibility of the National Assembly not passing the bill into law before its tenure expires, said the issue of starting with the process of passing the Petroleum Industry Bill into law all over again did not arise as he said,  the National Assembly would definitely pass the bill into law before its tenure expires.Speaking on the importance of the conference, Professor Adeola Adenikinju, chairman, Conference Planning Committee and the president-elect of the association, said the theme was chosen to create awareness and diversify the countrys energy sources.With the confrence, he said Nigerians would at the end of the day be able to find out the cheapest source of energy.
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