Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), has disclosed that since the directive that petrol service stations within 20 kilometres of Nigeria’s boarders with neighbouring countries should not be supplied products, there have been about 30 percent drop in consumption statistics of petrol in Nigeria.
Ali while addressing the House of Representatives joint committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Customs and Excise, and Interior on Thursday, said the about 400 filling stations affected by the directive were used in smuggling products subsidised for the benefit of Nigerians, adding that in Niger Republic alone, sometimes about 25 high capacity trucks are used for such smuggling.
Responding to concerns raised by lead Chairman of the joint committee, Hon. Abdulahi Gaya that Nigerians living around the affected areas have been subjected to exploitation by petrol black marketers due to the exercise, with a litre selling for as much as N500, the Customs boss said some actions may be bitter, but necessary.
“Nigeria is spending so much to subsidize fuel, which is finding its way out of the country. Between 30 and 40 percent of subsidized fuel were smuggled out of the country, so we must sometimes take decision that are hard in order to get things right”, he stated, adding that the decision was taken after a critical consideration.
“People have perfected ways of smuggling the fuel. About 90 percent of children in those locations don’t go to school because they have been indoctrinated into smuggling. We are entering a period that we normally experience fuel shortage, so we want to be sure we are served with what we have”, he said.
Stakeholders and the committee, after the deliberations arrived at a decision to collectively review the operation, with a view to ensuring that Nigerians within the boarder lines are not subjected to untold hardships.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, Gaya said in addition to people being exploited, “it was estimated that each filling station employs a minimum of four to ten persons, by implication, thousands of Nigerians are rendered jobless by this measure”, adding that such considerations necessitated the House’s intervention.
