ABUJA, May 30 (Reuters) - Lawmakers in Nigeria's upper house
of parliament on Thursday approved a 129 billion naira ($422
million) payment to cover debts to local oil firms related to a
fuel subsidy programme.
The Senate listed 67 companies that will get a portion of
the payment.
The government has struggled for years to make timely
subsidy payments to fuel importers. The more limited cash flow
during the oil price crash exacerbated the issue.
Fuel subsidies are contentious in Africa's top crude oil
producer, which imports most of its gasoline due to
underperforming refineries. Prices are kept artificially low at
145 naira ($0.48) per litre.
Over the past two years, Nigeria's state oil company NNPC
has itself imported close to 90 percent of the nation's gasoline
because the difference between the price cap and international
fuel costs made it unprofitable for private marketers to import.
($1 = 305.9000 naira)