There has been strong progress on anticorruption and on inefficient fossil fuel subsidy phase-out.
In mid-January, spooked by events in Tunisia, the government increased the fuel subsidy for public workers.
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After two national addresses, a brow-beaten President Goodluck Jonathan rolled back fuel prices and reinstated some fuel subsidy.
And he made a commitment -- far from realized -- to identify and punish profiteers from fuel subsidy scams.
But only a tiny fraction of the fuel subsidy actually goes to people whom the government classifies as poor (see chart 6).
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High international crude prices have exacerbated the government's fuel subsidy expenditures contributing to a higher fiscal deficit, and a worsening current account deficit.
Since September, the government has increased diesel prices to reduce its fuel subsidy bill and allowed more foreign investment in sectors such as retail and civil aviation.
Unrelated to the fuel subsidy issue but also causing problems for Jonathan's administration is sectarian violence in northern Nigeria where, in recent months, states of emergency have been declared.
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As an example, he points to a winter fuel subsidy to all over-80s as well as pledges to build 3, 500 homes and offer all young people apprenticeships, training or work.
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And because of the slight rise in fuel prices (which should be more than compensated for by the savings from eliminating the subsidy), a small amount of fuel conservation may result.
On the fuel side, we have ethanol subsidies and the Renewable Fuel Standard, which is an implicit subsidy program.
The government also argues that the biggest beneficiaries of the subsidy were the owners of fuel-importing companies - among the richest people in the country.
The U.S. pays a huge subsidy to transform corn into motor fuel.
However it has been limited by subsidy reforms which have increased the cost of fuel and electricity, as well as by shortages of increasingly-expensive raw materials.
Most of this burden was carried as an implicit subsidy to domestic energy consumers, with the price of diesel fuel, for example, set at the equivalent of two American cents a litre, and petrol selling for less than bottled water.
Sometime in the next five to ten years, solar fans predict, the cost curves of solar and fossil fuel generation will cross in most parts of the world, and solar will sell itself to consumers without a subsidy.
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