FG saved $20b from subsidy removal, forex floating, says Edun

The Federal Government says it has saved $20 billion by removing petrol subsidy and adopting market-based foreign exchange pricing.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, revealed this at an event in Abuja. Edun stated that the two subsidies were costing the country five percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“When there was a subsidy on PMS and on foreign exchange, they collectively cost five percent of GDP. Assuming GDP was $400 billion on average, five percent of that is $20 billion — funds that could now go into infrastructure, health, social services, and education.”

The real change is that no one can wake up and target cheap funding or forex from the Central Bank to enrich themselves without adding value. Similarly, profiteering from the inefficient petrol subsidy regime is no longer possible,” he said.

It must be recalled that President Bola Tinubu officially ended the petrol subsidy regime on May 29, 2023.