As Nigerians contend daily with economic hardship in the country, fuel scarcity and increasing cost of transportation may continue to pound citizens across all classes due to heightening fuel smuggling
By Augustine Ojeikhoa
In the past three months Nigerians have been battling with fuel queues across the country. While long queues persist in the cities of Lagos and Abuja the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in other towns and cities across the country the price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) commonly referred to as petrol or fuel has risen to over N1,000 and N1,700 in fuel stations and black market respectively.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as with his immediate predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, remains the substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources, yet the country has still been unable to achieve any form of efficiency in the oil industry as citizens are unable to reap the benefits of having petroleum resources deposited in their land by nature. The corruption in the oil industry was to compel President Tinubu to announce the removal of the contentious fuel subsidy on the day he was sworn in on May 29, 2023. Since then, the hardship occasioned by that pronouncement has thrown millions of citizens into abject poverty.
Various reasons are behind the current fuel scarcity that may never abate, but chiefly among them being the inability of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to pay lingering debt owed oil traders and fuel smuggling which is heightening on daily basis despite the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS’s) intervention units and teams.
Among the reasons Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy enjoyed by Nigerians across board was to curtail the smuggling of the commodity. It was argued that should the price of the PMS be increased to what obtains in the neighbouring African countries of Niger, Benin, Chad among others, it would deter smuggling of the product because there would be no need nor profit in fuel smuggling since the price of fuel in Nigeria is the same in neighbouring African countries.
But after Tinubu had withdrawn subsidy on fuel forcing its pump price to jump to as high as N750 per litre, there are indications that smuggling fuel out of the country through the land borders has worsened. At the last count, it was estimated that a total of 25 million litres of PMS valued at N10.4 billion are smuggled out through the land borders across the country on daily basis. This brings about unending fuel scarcity and illicit increases in its pump price as fuel stations take advantage of the scarcity to increase their price arbitrarily. Also, the increases in pump price of fuel bring about increased transport fares which increase prices of other things and worsen the living conditions of most citizens.
According to experts, the fuel crisis in the country has hampered free movement of people and goods across the country because it has resulted in over 300 percent increase in cost of transportation which is worsening the economic crisis faced by the citizens. When Tinubu removed subsidy last year, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) had hinted that daily fuel consumption had drastically reduced to 40 million litres per day. Unfortunately smuggling of PMS into neighbouring African countries has now jerked the daily PMS consumption to about 65 million litres per day, with 25 million litres smuggled out. Even the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the agency charged with the responsibility to combat smuggling of any kind, has admitted that there is heightening fuel smuggling.
Consequently, the NCS early this year created another intervention team which it tagged the “Operation Whirlwind” after it disbanded the CGC’s Strike Force Team last year, and. charged it with the responsibility of combating fuel smuggling across the borders. Although the head of the Customs Anti-bunkering Team as the Operation Whirlwind is often addressed, Comptroller Hussein Ejibunu continues to make seizures of PMS across international land borders, it appears the scourge of PMS smuggling is becoming overwhelming against the capacity of the policing agency.
Recently, Comptroller Ejibunu pointed out that some notorious smugglers operate along borders in Adamawa and Ogun States where the Operation Whirlwind had pounded them, intercepting hundreds of thousands of litres of smuggled PMS. Besides the afore mentioned borders, this medium gathered that land borders in Kebbi, Jibiya Border in Katsina and Seme Border in Lagos States have become notorious for PMS smuggling syndicate in recent times.
According to Comptroller Ejibunu, “Following the ravaging effects of illegal exportation of Premium Motor Spirit {PMS} to neighboring countries by economic saboteurs, the Service under the able leadership of the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, in close collaboration with National Security Adviser (NSA), set up Operation Whirlwind Task Force Team in which I was appointed the National Coordinator to declare total war on the enemies of the state.
“The conception of the team was aimed at ensuring that Nigerians enjoy the full benefits of fuel price deregulation in line with the vision of president Bola Ahmed Tinubu, defend the National Currency and reduce pressures that may be attributed to the activities of smugglers, identify, dismantle and disrupt cartels of smugglers operating within the ecosystem and raise awareness of the local communities and solicit their support to achieve these objectives.
“Empowered by the new Customs Act 2023 and guided by credible intelligence, the operation targets illegal exportation, particularly of petroleum products, ensuring availability within the country and conserving Government resources. The Operation covers all NCS Zones (A-D), involving carefully selected officers trained and equipped to handle the task with strict adherence to professionalism.
“Recall that within two weeks after inauguration of the team, the Comptroller General did a press conference in Adamawa state during which he showcased an interception of a combined total of 280,135 liters of fuel cutting across the four NCS zones by the Operation Whirlwind team, worth more than N196.5 Million. This would have been smuggled out of the country if unchecked.
“Shortly after the CGC’s Press Conference in Adamawa, there was another interception of 26,950 litres PMS at Ogun axis of Zone ‘A’ valued atN19 Million. It was showcased by me in a press conference at Abeokuta on the 13th of June, 2024. In less than two weeks, still in Ogun state axis, 21,810 liters of PMS were intercepted and showcased on the 24th of June, 2024, worth N17.5Million”.
