The National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, has stated that the removal of the fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu has effectively put an end to fuel smuggling across the country, emphasizing that only a small number of Nigerians were benefiting from the policy.
Ribadu made this statement on Wednesday in Abuja during the ongoing Comptroller General of Customs (CGCs) conference.
He explained that Nigeria had been indirectly subsidizing neighboring countries due to smuggling activities in border communities.
“I am from a border community and every day I keep getting calls about how Customs are making life difficult for smugglers. Surprisingly, the people aiding them also include the military but now, everything is in the past as all those generals and security forces enabling fuel smugglers have been taken away and replaced by a new team.
“Similarly, the subsidy that all of us are talking about that has brought NNPC to its knees was only serving neighbouring countries and not even Nigerians. We were subsidising Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Benin Republic, Ghana and the smart Nigerians who called themselves oil marketers,” he said.
The NSA attributed the large number of oil marketers in the country to the subsidy regime, which they were benefiting from.
“Nigeria is the only country in the world where everyone is an oil marketer because of subsidies. You can count about 100 filling stations from Abuja to Kaduna alone. However, the welfare we have given them is over and the business of smuggling fuel across the border has also ended,” he said.
He further stated that the recent initiatives by the Nigeria Customs Service, especially Operation Whirlwind to curtail smuggling have yielded significant results among other efforts.
“I am pleased to announce that yesterday, 12 November 2024, at exactly 13:10 hours, the Nigeria Customs Service hit its 2024 revenue target of NGN 5.07 trillion, collecting NGN 5,079,455,088,194.38, with more than a month remaining in the fiscal year.
“This exceptional performance projected to exceed our target by 10 percent validates our partnership-driven approach to revenue collection and trade facilitation,” he stated.
