The All Progressives Congress, Nigeria’s ruling party, has denied claims that the government has reintroduced fuel subsidy through the back door.

The party’s spokesman, Felix Morka, said in a statement on Monday night that the government’s recent intervention to ensure some measure of price stability and predictability does not amount to a return of the “ruinous fuel subsidy of recent past.”

Morka was reacting to reports by the Peoples Democratic Party that the government spent N169.4 billion in August to keep the fuel pump price at N620 per liter. 

The opposition PDP had accused the government of hypocrisy for criticizing the previous administration for paying fuel subsidy while doing the same itself.

But Morka said the APC government has no intention of reintroducing fuel subsidy. He said the government’s intervention in the fuel market is temporary and will be phased out once the market stabilizes.

He also accused the PDP of peddling “fake news” and engaging in “other inanities” just to discredit President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

“Unsurprisingly, Shaibu’s only ‘evidence’ for such an arrant conclusion is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed more media aides than economic and security advisers, conveniently glossing over the fact that Mr. President was swift in rejigging the security architecture and repositioning the Armed Forces for optimal performance in defence of lives and property,” Morka said.

He also defended the administration’s other economic policies, such as the removal of fuel subsidy, the harmonization of the foreign exchange regimes, and the signing into law of the Students’ Loan Act.

Morka said these policies must “remove age-old distortions and contradictions, accelerate and solidify all round recovery and prosperity for our country.”

He also said the government has appointed experienced and highly skilled professionals to key institutions of the economy, such as the Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria, and Federal Inland Revenue Service.

Furthermore, Morka commented on the recent lifting of the visa ban on Nigerians by the United Arab Emirates authorities. He said the government is “pleased” with the development and is a sign of the growing diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The spokesman further said the government is “confident” that the proposed meeting between President Tinubu and US President Joe Biden will be successful.