Customs blames NNPC for increasing cross-border smuggling of fuel

The Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Hameed Ali, has blamed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the high rate of smuggling of fuel across the country’s land borders.

He said he had on many occasions proposed to the NNPC to establish petroleum retail outlets in neighbouring countries to curtail smuggling of fuel but that the state oil company repeatedly ignored the proposals.

Ali spoke on Monday during an interactive session with members of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance on the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

The committee said it would use the 10-day session to review the MTEF, which was submitted to the National Assembly in July.

While responding to concerns raised by a member of the committee, Abdulahi Saidu (APC, Niger) on the increasing daily consumption of PMS in the country, Ali specifically blamed the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) for giving licences to filling stations around the borders.

He argued that the establishment of the retail outlets would help to end the smuggling of PMS across Nigeria’s borders.

He said since the price differential was responsible for the smuggling, the NNPC could sell at similar prices to Nigeria, including transport cost.

“We have also proposed to NNPC, if the price differential is the problem, we have our banks, Zenith Bank, GT Bank, operating in the West coast. What stops us?