Minister of State for Finance Yerima Ngama said yesterday that the Federal Government had spent N518 billion so far on fuel subsidy out of the N888 billion appropriated in the 2012 budget.

The Minister disclosed this to State House Correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo at the State House.

Ngama, who briefed the correspondents alongside his information counterpart, Labaran Maku, said N451 billion was paid for subsidy from January to March this year.

He said the NNPC made a claim of N50 billion for arrears of April while another N17 billion was cleared for payment by the Debt Management Office (DMO) and CBN.

Ngama said the ministry, however, discovered after releasing the N481 billion that part of the fund was arrears for 2011.

Maku said Nigerians should know that subsidy was "an albatross and like a bag of sugar on the floor that would always attract ants."

Maku said council also endorsed a Memo from the Ministry of Water Resources for Nigeria to co-sponsor the project for the transfer of water to Lake Chad to save the lake from extinction.

NAN