Nigeria spent a whopping sum of $1bn as subsidy on kerosene last year, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said. According to the Vice President, the massive dependence on kerosene and firewood by millions of households across the country made the Federal Government to spend such huge funds subsidising the commodity.
Osinbajo, who spoke at the Domestic Liquified Petroleum Gas Stakeholders’ Forum in Abuja on Tuesday, explained that the low level consumption of LPG by Nigerians was a major reason for the high demand of kerosene and firewood.
He said, “The low LPG consumption in Nigeria has resulted in heavy dependence on kerosene and firewood as primary domestic cooking fuel. The government has undertaken huge subsidy of over $1bn spent in 2015 on kerosene subsidy.”
This, he said, was not beneficial for Nigeria economically and health-wise, as data at the disposal of government showed that thousands of women and children had died as a result of diseases caused by firewood and kerosene polluted air.