The Comptroller-General, Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Hameed Ali, yesterday said claims by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited that Nigerians consumed 98 million litres of premium motor spirit (PMS) daily is fraudulent.
Ali, who disputed the authenticity of the NNPC’s claims on the actual volume of PMS also called petrol, supplied and consumed on daily basis, also wondered why the NNPC permits the lifting of 98 million litres of petrol daily when it knew the actual consumption is only 60 million litres.
Against this backdrop, the Customs boss insisted that the current subsidy regime projected to gulp over N6 trillion in 2023, is also a fraud.
Ali gave his views while responding to questions from members of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, on how the NCS was tackling the high incidence of smuggling of petrol outside the country.
He was in the House to defend the NCS presentation on the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Policy Paper (FSP), held by the Finance Committee, which was chaired by James Faleke.
This is the second time in a matter of days a high ranking federal government official will be disputing product figures that have been bandied about by the NNPC for years.
On Sunday, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, in an interview with Channels Television, also debunked claims of daily crude oil theft quoted publicly by the NNPC.
The Naval Chief declared that “Most of these claims are definitely outrageous and unrealistic.”
Gambo, who alluded to reports that between 20,000 and 200,000 barrels of crude oil are being stolen daily in Nigeria, noted that 100,000 barrels of crude is the equivalent of 15.8 million litres of oil that would require a five-ton barge to make 3,160 trips to convey to a mother vessel within a day.
That computation to me is not anything to be believed because scientifically, you cannot tell me that I filled my tank today and tomorrow, I will still fill my tank with the same quantity of fuel.
Fuel consumption, subsidy
Ali, a retired Colonel, argued that the 98 million litres of PMS daily consumption cannot be scientifically substantiated, adding that over 38 million litres of PMS released daily in excess of the actual consumption in the Nigerian market find their way out of the country.
Regarding the N11 trillion projected fiscal deficit in the 2023 budget proposal as captured in the 2023-2025 MTEF/FSP, an obviously angry Alli said: “I remember that last year we spoke about this, unfortunately, this year, we are talking about subsidy again.
“The over N11 trillion we are going to take as debt, more than half of it is going for subsidy. The issue is not about smuggling of petroleum products; I have always argued this with NNPC.
“If we are consuming 60 million litres of petrol per day by their own computation, why in the world do you allow the lifting of 98 million litres of petrol per day? Why, if you know this is our consumption, why do you allow that lifting? That is one.
“That computation to me is not anything to be believed because scientifically, you cannot tell me that I filled my tank today and tomorrow, I will still fill my tank with the same quantity of fuel.
“And if I’m running a petrol station, for instance, today, if I go to the Minna Depot and lift a truck and I’m taking it to Kaduna; if I reach Kaduna in the evening and offload that truck that evening, there’s no way I could have sold off that petrol immediately to warrant another loading.
“So, how did we get to 60 million litres every day? These are my problems.
On the issue of smuggling, if you say you release 98 million litres and then, we use only 60 million litres; the balance will be 38 million litres. How many trucks will carry those 38 million litres every day? That will be almost 500 trucks. Which roads are they following? Where are they carrying them to?” he asked.
On the issue of smuggling, if you say you release 98 million litres and then, we use only 60 million litres; the balance will be 38 million litres. How many trucks will carry those 38 million litres every day? That will be almost 500 trucks. Which roads are they following? Where are they carrying them to?
Resolving subsidy crisis
In his submission, Deputy Chairman of the Finance Committee, Sa’idu Abdullahi, noted that the amount being “expended” on fuel subsidy, which should have been invested in the provision of social infrastructure, are being diverted into private pockets.
Abdullahi said: “If there is anything that has constituted a nuisance on our resources today, it is subsidy. And without mincing words, as a government, we have not done well in doing the right thing. We are talking about N6 trillion going into subsidy payments which almost don’t exist.
“You talked about 38 million litres which amount to about 500 trucks leaving this shore on a daily basis. We have invested in NIGCOMSAT; do we have captured images of these trucks leaving our shores? Society will be kind to us if we are able to proffer a lasting solution to subsidy because it is not sustainable. Monies that should go into social services are being spent on subsidies which end in private pockets.”
