NNPCL Defends Fuel Subsidy Removal, Blames Smugglers
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has, once more, defended fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria, citing how it benefitted smugglers instead.
This is according to NNPCL Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, who boasted that the removal has changed the oil and gas sector for good.
Kyari pointed out that fuel smugglers raked in at least 17 million per 6000-litre truckload from smuggling fuel to neighbouring countries before the subsidy removal in May 2023.
He explained that the same truckload cost just N500,000 in Nigeria.
“For the past 47 years, petrol has been heavily subsidised, which created an arbitrage opportunity, as fuel prices in Nigeria were significantly lower than in neighbouring countries.
“When the President ended the subsidy in June, it recalibrated fuel prices to their true market value. There’s no longer any profit in smuggling fuel across borders. A smuggler who once earned N17 million per trip can no longer do so.
“Why would anyone go through the hassle of taking a truck to Maiduguri and make only N500,000 or, at best, a few million after holding the product for a month, when they could have previously earned N17 million in one trip smuggling it across the border?” Kyari asked.
Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, had swiftly removed fuel subsidy upon assumption of office in May last year.
While some believe fuel subsidy is the right thing to do, others believe that the government went about things the wrong way and imposed hardship on its citizens as a result.
