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FG Spends N774m Daily On Fuel Subsidy -NNPC
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that it loses N774 million daily on under-recovery due to the increase in petrol consumption in the country.
The corporation has refused to use the term subsidy in reference to how much it spends in keeping the official price of petrol at N145 at filling stations, although it is sold for much higher in many states across Nigeria. It has however been criticised for expending such amount on subsidising the product without National Assembly legislation.
The NNPC noted that the daily expenditure was triggered by a heightened petrol consumption rate of 50 million litres per day, occasioned by the proliferation of fuel stations in border communities across the country.
Under-recovery refers to the difference between the landing cost of petroleum products and the retail price the commodity is sold at the filling stations to consumers. The NNPC typically recovers this amount from the revenue it should remit to the Federation Account.
A statement by Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC’s spokesperson said the corporation’s GMD, Maikanti Baru, made this known recently.
Mr. Baru said there is proliferation of fuel stations in communities with international land and coastal borders across the country, insisting that the development has energized unprecedented cross-border smuggling of petrol to neighbouring countries.
This, he said, makes it difficult to sanitise the fuel supply and distribution matrix in the country.
Leading a top management team of the corporation on a visit to the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Hameed Ali, Mr. Baru revealed that detailed study conducted by NNPC indicated strong correlation between the presence of the frontier stations and the activities of fuel smuggling syndicates.
He said that the activities of the smugglers had led to recent observed abnormal surge in the evacuation of petrol from less than 35 million litres per day to more than 60 million litres per day which is in sharp contrast with established national consumption pattern.
Providing a detailed presentation of the findings, the NNPC GMD informed that 16 states, having amongst them 61 local government areas with border communities, account for 2,201 registered fuel stations.
The fuel tank, he noted, had a combined capacity of 144,998,700 (one hundred and forty four million, nine hundred and ninety eight thousand and seven hundred) litres of petrol.
In the same vein, eight states with coastal border communities spread across 24 LGAs account for 866 registered fuel outlets with combined petrol tank capacity of 73, 443, 086 (seventy three million, four hundred and forty three thousand and eighty six) litres.
The NNPC boss said a breakdown of the finding shows that among the states with land border, three LGAs in Ogun State account for 633 fuel stations with combined petrol tankage of 40, 485,000 (Forty Million and Four Hundred and Eight Five thousand) litres while nine LGAs in Borno State have 337 fuel outlets with combined petrol storage capacity of 21, 114, 480 (twenty one million, one hundred and fourteen thousand four hundred and eighty) litres.
Lagos with one local government as border community has 235 registered fuel stations with total petrol storage facility of 19,916, 600 (Nineteen Million, Nine Hundred and Sixteen Thousand, Six Hundred) litres, he said.
On the coastal front, Lagos with six local governments leads with 487 registered fuel stations with combined in-built storage capacity of 50, 239,560 (Fifty Million, Two Hundred and Thirty Nine Thousand, Five Hundred and Sixty) litres. Akwa Ibom with five local governments has 134 registered retail outlets with capacity to store 8, 322, 986 (eight million, three hundred and twenty two thousand and nine hundred and eighty six) litres, while Ondo State with two local governments has 110 fuel stations with capacity to store 3,871,320 (three million eight hundred and seventy one thousand, three hundred & twenty) litres.
Mr. Baru explained that because of the obvious differential in petrol price between Nigeria and other neighbouring countries, it had become lucrative for the smugglers to use the frontier stations as a veritable conduit for the smuggling of products across the border, saying this had resulted in a thriving market for Nigerian petrol in all the neighbouring countries of Niger Republic, Benin Republic, Cameroun, Chad and Togo and even Ghana which has no direct borders with Nigeria.
“’NNPC is concerned that continued cross-border smuggling of petrol will deny Nigerians the benefit of the Federal Government’s benevolence of keeping a fix retail price of N145 per litre despite the increase in PMS open market price above N171 per litre,’’ he said.
He noted that based on the heightened petrol consumption rate of 50 million litre per day, the corporation was incurring an under-recovery of N774 million every day.
Mr. Ali on his part said the Customs Service would work with the corporation to stem the tide of cross-border smuggling of petroleum products, noting that all hands must be on deck to ensure the economic survival of the country.
He called on the authorities to tackle the issue of price differentials which is the underlying motivation for smuggling activities across borders.
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerians to reject silence in the face of extrajudicial killings and other abuses of human rights.
Soyinka stressed that accountability and civic courage remain essential to rebuilding public confidence in the nation’s institutions.
He made the call during the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture held in Port Harcourt, last Friday as part of activities marking his 92nd birthday.
The lecture, themed “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage,” drew participants from different sectors of society.
The renowned playwright and human rights advocate said the country’s greatest tragedy was not only the unlawful killings carried out by state and non-state actors, but also the silence that often follows such incidents, allowing perpetrators to evade justice.
According to him, indifference by citizens to abuses of power and violations of fundamental human rights has contributed to the persistence of extrajudicial killings and other forms of injustice across the country.
Soyinka said he dedicated this year’s lecture to victims of unlawful killings, noting that the event was intended to honour individuals who had lost their lives as a result of failures within the justice system and society’s inability to protect the sanctity of human life.
He stressed that the lecture was dedicated to what he described as the basic unit of every society – the human being, and urged Nigerians to place greater value on human dignity irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social status.
The Nobel Laureate recalled several incidents of violence, including the fatal shooting and killing of a young man in Ugheli in Delta State by a police officer, and the mob killing of Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto State sometime ago, lamenting that many of those responsible are yet to face justice.
He expressed concern that some perpetrators of violent crimes had openly admitted their actions without fear of prosecution, describing such situations as evidence of serious failures within the nation’s justice system.
Soyinka maintained that when justice is delayed or denied, public confidence in state institutions continues to erode, thereby encouraging further violations of human rights.
Responding to critics who accuse him of promoting religious or ethnic divisions whenever he spoke on such issues, Soyinka dismissed the allegations and pointed out that his advocacy has always centred on the protection of human life and the rule of law.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and continue demanding justice in cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, including the recent shooting of a young man by a police officer, stressing that every life deserves equal protection under the law.
The literary icon also recalled an earlier pledge by a past incoming president to make public the files relating to unresolved assassinations and extrajudicial killings, questioning the status of the promised investigations.
He challenged citizens to continue asking questions about unresolved cases, insisting that justice, accountability and respect for human dignity are indispensable to building a peaceful, democratic and inclusive Nigerian society.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that there was no fire at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, contrary to its earlier advisory.
Earlier yesterday, FAAN had announced that a fire incident had occurred at Terminal 2 of the nation’s busiest airport, and assured that its Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service had been deployed to contain the situation.
There were also reports that activities were briefly disrupted at the airport yesterday after smoke was seen inside parts of the terminal.
Videos circulating online showed passengers kept standing outside the terminal while firefighters responded to the incident.
However, in an update issued less than two hours later by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, and posted on FAAN’s official X handle, the authority said preliminary findings showed that the smoke seen at the terminal was caused by the discharge of the facility’s FM-200 fire suppression system.
“Further to our earlier advisory regarding the incident at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to provide the following update,” the statement read.
“Preliminary findings indicate that there was no fire at the terminal. The smoke observed within the affected area resulted from the discharge of the terminal’s FM-200 fire suppression system. The reason for the activation of the fire suppression system is currently being investigated,” FAAN stated.
The authority said normal operations had resumed at the terminal while investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the incident.
“Normal operations have since resumed at the terminal, while detailed investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the incident,” the statement added.
The authority thanked passengers, airlines, airport users and other stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation.
FAAN appreciated the understanding and cooperation of passengers, airlines, airport users and all stakeholders, and reiterated its commitment to the safety and security of all airport operations.