As concerns mount over speculations that the Nigerian government is secretly paying fuel subsidy, a video showing the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, saying there’s no subsidy on fuel imports has resurfaced online.
The video is being circulated following a recent report that the government accepted the NNPCL request to use the 2023 dividends due to the federation to pay for petrol subsidy.
An X user, @abdullahayofel, posted the video with a caption thus:
“VIDEO: There’s no subsidy whatsoever, disregard fake news – Mele Kyari”
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The video has garnered over 100,000 views on X, alongside over 500 likes and about 300 reposts as of August 21, 2024.
Another X user, @abj_online posted the video with another caption that read:
“VIDEO: There’s no subsidy whatsoever, disregard fake news – Mele Kyari @MKKyari, GMD NNPCL @nnpclimited clarifies.”
The video has generated more than 33,000 views and over 170 likes plus more than 100 reposts as of August 21, 2024.
CLAIM
Recent video shows the NNPCL boss, Mele Kyari, denying payment of fuel subsidy.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING, as the video has been online since 10 months ago.
In his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, the Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, announced the removal of fuel subsidy. The fuel subsidy is a financial support meant to subsidize the price of petrol locally for Nigerians. However, there have been strong indications that the government still spends billions on its payments.
Though the Nigerian government has consistently denied paying fuel subsidy, a recent report by The Cable said the government has agreed to help the NNPCL pay outstanding fuel subsidy contrary to the government’s claim.
This indicates that President Tinubu has allowed the company to use money that was supposed to be shared among the federal, state, and local governments (known as dividends) to cover the cost of the subsidy instead.
Though the NNPCL has denied paying fuel subsidy in a recent statement, the viral video of Mele Kyari has been online since October 9, 2023, according to this Channels TV report.
The video shows when Kyari was addressing State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja in October 2023 where he vehemently denied the return of the fuel subsidy regime.
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“There is no subsidy whatsoever. We’re recovering our full cost from the products that we import. We sell to the market; we understand why the marketers are unable to import.
“We hope that they do this very quickly and these are some of the interventions the government is doing. There is no subsidy,” Kyari said.
Kyari’s denial then was to douse speculations over a rise in landing cost of petrol beyond N700 after oil marketers raised the alarm that pump prices could rise to record numbers.
THE VERDICT
The claim that recent video shows the NNPCL boss, Mele Kyari, denying payment of fuel subsidy is MISLEADING; the video has been online since October 2023.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
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