The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has debunked reports that no provision was made for fuel subsidy in the 2015 budget, which was passed by the separate chambers of the legislature a few days ago.

Makarfi, who made the statement when he visited the Ministry of Finance in Abuja, also spoke on how the federal government can cut the cost of governance.

The Senate had on Tuesday passed the 2015 budget of N4.493 trillion, five months after it was presented by the Minister of Finance/Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The Appropriation Bill, which was passed by the House of Representatives last week, was N51bn higher than the N4.425tn submitted to both chambers of the National Assembly by the executive.

Following the passage, concerns were raised that there was no provision for fuel subsidies in the 2015 budget. However, Makarfi said N100 billion was provided as subsidy for petrol, while N43 billion was approved for kerosene in the 2015 budget.

He said: “There is a provision for subsidy in the budget, people need to understand where to look for an issue. If you look at the main appropriation, there are so many cost components.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/05/makarfi-there-is-a-provision-for-fuel-subsidy-in-2015-budget/