By Abubakar Yunusa
Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, says the removal of petrol subsidy has significantly reduced cross-border smuggling of the product.
Speaking with journalists, Kyari said the petrol subsidy created a price disparity between Nigeria and neighbouring countries, making smuggling highly profitable.
Kyari said prior to the removal of the subsidy, the price disparity had encouraged smugglers to transfer petroleum products over international boundaries.
The NNPC GCEO said there is currently a noticeable difference in profit between the legal and illegal petrol sales.
For example, he said petrol smugglers could make as much as N17 million on one tanker of petrol, while an oil marketer in Maiduguri, Borno state capital, would only gain about N300,000 to N400,000.
“When Mr. President announced the removal of subsidy in June 2023, it calibrated prices, they came to market, and there is no longer value in anyone taking the products across the border,” Kyari said.
“If you do, you would not make those profits you used to make.”
Speaking on why smugglers preferred neighbouring countries, Kyari said these countries have “taxation on PMS”.
“We do not have tax here. So, on many of these countries, actual government revenue is dependent on the taxes that is coming on PMS,” the NNPC GCEO said.
