Business
‘Reduce Fuel Subsidy’s Funding’
The Secretary to the Asagba of Asaba in Council, Chief John Iloba, has urged the Federal Government to review downward, money spent on petroleum subsidy.
He told our correspondent in Asaba on Monday that the removal of the subsidy would bring more hardship to Nigerians.
Iloba said that the downward review would be the best option, because it would be beneficial to all Nigerians.
He suggested that the review should take into consideration the interest of the oil producing states in the Niger Delta by improving infrastructure in the region.
“If this is not done, the oil producing states will stand to lose, in the sense that the oil is coming from them and at the same time they are going through hardship, especially in the riverine communities.’’
In his reaction, the President of Asaba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Chief Uju Udeme, applauded government’s proposed planto remove the subsidy.
He said that the level of development in the country, especially in the areas of infrastructure and population, had made the retention of the subsidy unnecessary.
Udeme said that the continued retention of the subsidy would affect economic development of the country.
He noted that in some countries, such as Saudi Arabia and other OPEC member nations, although the price of fuel was high, the product was always available.
Udeme said the removal of the subsidy would boost economic activities, particularly in the area of infrastructural development.
“More money will be available to government at all levels to carry out a lot of development programmes.’’
The Delta Commissioner for Economic Planning, Mr Kenneth Okpara, said although the removal of the subsidy would affect the poor in terms of transportation cost, “more money will be available to fund government’s projects that will be of benefit to the poor”.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
