No going back

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Engineer Chime Ibenechie told the fourth annual conference of the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics (NLNG) that gas flaring in Nigeria would end in 2012. He said the vast sum of money being spent on fuel subsidies is regretted and the subsidies on gas could be better put to use to provide infrastructure and gas projects.

Minister of Information Labaran Maku said the government would not go back on the issue of removing the fuel subsidy. To assist struggling Nigerians with the increase in transport resulting from higher fuel prices, government takes  "palliative measures" in the form of new buses.

"Government has placed [an] order for massive supply of decent diesel-engine buses to solve the transportation problem. In the next couple of weeks, there will be sufficient mass transit buses. It will go on for two years. Any moment from now, we should take delivery of these buses," said Maku in early January.

He added that the Federal Executive Council was not out to punish Nigerians.

"Our country is in a difficult situation and we are appealing to the citizens to appreciate this difficulty. With the measures we have taken, we are confident that we will correct the imbalance in the economy," Maku said.

According to Minister of Trade Olusegun Aganga, in early January about 1,600 diesel-powered mass transit buses would be made available for distribution across the country.

"For the first time, we want to put in place a sustainable robust mass transit program to reduce the pains fellow Nigerians are going through now," Aganga said. Beneficiaries of the Urban Mass Transit Scheme are expected to repay the cost of this initiative in the form of a loan over five years.

The government estimates it will save $6.2 billion this year by eliminating the subsidy.

(Reporting from Nigeria)