Nigerian Government has said it is yet to begin the full deregulation of the downstream sector because of the desire of President Muhammadu Buhari not to inflict unmitigated pain on the masses.
Speaking on Tuesday, September 15, 2020, at a dialogue on the economy between the organised labour and the Federal Government, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timiprey Sylva, explained that the reigning cost of petrol is N163 but it is sold for N161 per litre, which indicates that full deregulation is indeed yet to take off in the country.
He also said the Federal Government spent a whopping N10.4 trillion on petrol subsidy between 2016 and 2019.