Nigeria suspends plan to scrap costly fuel subsidy

Nigeria's government has suspended plans to remove its long-standing subsidy on petroleum products in July, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said on Monday, saying the timing was "problematic" amid high inflation.

Nigeria's government has suspended plans to remove its long-standing subsidy on petroleum products in July, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said on Monday, saying the timing was "problematic" amid high inflation. Ahmed said in November the government planned to remove the subsidy by the middle of this year and replace it with 5,000 naira ($12) in monthly payments to the poorest families.

"It became clear that the timing is problematic, that practically there is still heightened inflation, and also removal of subsidy will further worsen the situation," Ahmed said in Abuja. She has said the fuel subsidy costs Nigeria up to 3 trillion naira ($7 billion) a year in lost revenues.

Successive Nigerian governments have tried unsuccessfully to scrap the subsidy. Attempts to remove it have triggered street protests and strikes. Labour unions have rejected the deregulation of the country's downstream oil sector, which relies on imports of refined petroleum products, urging the government to speed up work on upgrading the country's four refineries.