FG agrees to pay outstanding balance to marketers

The Federal Government has agreed to pay oil marketers in the country the outstanding subsidy debt owed
them by the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

The agreement was reached on Wednesday, July 8, 2015, according to an inside source cited by Reuters.

The resolution is coming just in time as the country has been slowly sliding back into a fuel scarcity.

Nigeria’s economy was almost crippled in May when the country was hit with a shortage so severe, banks and other businesses were forced to close early.

The shortage resulted after marketers went on strike to demand the subsidy payments owed them.

Despite its vast crude oil deposits, Nigeria relies on imported fuel due to non-functioning refineries.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has however said that the nation’s four refineries will resume operations this month.