You’d hoped that you won’t be hearing this any time soon, but sorry, it’s not going away.

The fuel subsidy is back to haunt Nigerians, dashing any hopes that the chants of “subsidy” (which was highly controversial and widely spoken about last year) will not resurface due to the fall in the global oil prices. In this light, the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulation Agency (PPPRA) announced that with effect from April 1, 2016, the government will have to subsidise the cost of petrol; in order to keep it at the current price.

According to the agency, the Expected Open Market Price of petrol for non-NNPC stations will now be N92.34 per litre, against an official pump price of N86.5 per litre, leaving a deficit of N5.84 per litre, which the government has now announced that it will be responsible for.

How will the new subsidy scheme affect Nigerians?

President Buhari’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy last year pleased many Nigerians, even more so, because the removal of the fuel subsidy came with a reduction in petrol pump price. However, the slight increase in the global oil prices has necessitated this new expense from the Federal Government.

Due to the petrol scarcity that is currently plaguing the nation, Nigerians may find it difficult to fully appreciate the re-introduction of the subsidy by Buhari’s administration. What people want to know now is how and when the fuel crisis will come to an end, as well as when they will witness Kachikwu’s promise of fully functional refineries.