10 October 2011, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Nigerian government’s plan to remove subsidy on fuel as from January 2012, as contained in President Goodluck Jonathan’s Medium Term Expenditure Framework, might pitch the Nigerian National Assembly against the Minister for Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Members of the National Assembly, especially Senators, are allegedly not satisfied with the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Okonjo-Iweala’s alleged insistence that it was only the removal of fuel subsidy that would guarantee the success of the framework.
The minister, who is also the head of the government economic team and coordinating minister for the economy, had reportedly hinged the successful implementation of the framework on the removal of the fuel subsidy.
Her insistence on the removal of the subsidy is alleged to have incurred the disapproval of the lawmakers, who believe they should be able to tinker with anything presented to them by the executive.
The senators believe that the powers given to Okonjo-Iweala as a super minister stopped with the executive arm of government and could not be extended to the National Assembly.
Jonathan had last Tuesday informed the National Assembly about his government’s plan to begin the removal of fuel subsidy next year.
The president conveyed this in a letter outlining his administration’s MTEF and a N4.8tn budget for the 2012 fiscal year.
