Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, says petrol smugglers took advantage of the loopholes in the subsidy regime, making₦17 million per truck in neighbouring countries.
Briefing journalists in Abuja, Kyari stated that cross-border smuggling was rampant due to the fuel subsidy, with a 6,000-liter truck, smugglers make no less than ₦17 million per trip.
Kyari said ,”In the last 47 years, PMS has always been subsidised and subsidy is creating arbitrage that means there is a difference between price in one location, lower than what it should be in another location.
“And when Mr. President announced the removal of subsidy in June, what he did was recalibrate the price. There is no longer any value in anyone taking the product across the border. If you do, you’re not going to make those profits than you do.
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“In a 6,000-litre truck, you can actually gain up to ₦17 million from just one truck. How are you going to stop someone who with two trips can just easily make ₦17 million times two—which is the price of the truck itself?
“However, when you take a truck legally maybe N8 million, say, to Maiduguri, the legitimate value you have is less than ₦500,000. Why will I see ₦17 million and then take all the trouble go to Maiduguri, keep it in the fuel station for one month and then make ₦3 to ₦4 million,”he queried.
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