Faced with a serious budget crisis, the government had first proposed to remove these maligned subsidies which siphon billions of dollars from the public coffers each year, but which allow service stations to sell gasoline at prices well below the market. .

This is touching on a very sensitive and therefore potentially explosive subject: Nigerian consumers consider access to cheap fuel as one of the rare privileges they derive from their oil power, undermined by poverty.

In November, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said she wanted to end this "unsustainable" measure by June, in accordance with the priorities set by the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

But to buy social peace, the government finally announced to change its mind.

“It is clear that the timing is problematic, that there is still rising inflation and that removing subsidies would only make the situation worse and put more hardship on citizens,” Ms. Ahmed told the public on Monday. senators.

Oil Minister Timipre Sylva said on Tuesday that the current government would propose to postpone the end of the subsidy system for 18 months, leaving the decision on their future in the hands of the government that will emerge from the next election.

Mr Sylva dismissed concerns over WB pressure against keeping the system in place.

"We have to look at the reality of our country. The World Bank cannot run Nigeria for us," he said.

Ms. Ahmed had previously proposed replacing the subsidies with "a monthly aid of 5,000 naira" (nearly 11 euros), distributed "to 30 or 40 million Nigerians" among the most deprived.

The Nigerian National Union NLC, which had planned to demonstrate on Thursday against any attempt to stop the subsidy system, announced on Tuesday that it was calling off the protest.

"I don't see any government, even one that arrives after 2023, has the political will to change the system," said Cheta Nwanze, a researcher at Nigerian consultancy SBM Intelligence.

However, the WB has recommended that Nigeria end it within the next six months to promote the diversification of its economy, which is mainly based on black gold exports.

Since the 1970s, the federal state - which spends more on subsidies than in other key underdeveloped sectors such as education or health - bears part of the cost of petroleum products.

Currently, a liter of gasoline costs an average of 165 naira (about 35 euro cents).

Over the past ten years, the authorities have tried to remove these subsidies on several occasions.

In vain.

Each time, they had to backtrack in the face of public anger, inflated to the hilt by the unions.

In 2012, the army even took to the streets to maintain calm during monster demonstrations.

© 2022 AFP