President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the House of Representatives to adjust the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) to accommodate the projected N4 trillion for petroleum subsidy in 2022.
The president, in a letter read by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Thursday, is seeking an increment of $11 to the oil benchmark to accommodate subsidy consumption and other expenses.
According to Mr Buhari, N442.72 billion was earmarked for fuel subsidy in the 2022 budget (January-June), but because of the hike in the price of crude oil, Nigeria is paying more for PMS subsidy, therefore, the country will require an additional N3.557 trillion for subsidy.
The current MTEF contains $62 BPD. If this is approved, the benchmark will now be $73 per barrel.
Meanwhile, when Buhari was outside government he had severely considered fuel subsidy to be scam, fraud.