The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has raised alarm over the sustained nefarious activities of some cross-border fuel smuggling syndicates and hoarders in the country.
The Corporation also noted that such activities have so far impeded its efforts to sanitise the fuel supply and distribution matrix across Nigeria.
NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru, said this on Wednesday in a presentation before the Joint National Assembly Committee on Petroleum Downstream in Abuja.
He informed the lawmakers that if the activities of the fuel truck diverters and smugglers were left unchecked, it would be absolutely difficult to guarantee round-the-clock availability of petrol throughout the country.
Baru added that the sudden and unnatural shock in fuel consumption to record levels has over-stretched the Direct-Sale-Direct-Supply (DSDP) crude for product supply arrangement which was originally based on 35 million per day petrol consumption pattern.
He lamented that with the current unprecedented average daily fuel evacuation of 55 million litres since December 1, 2017, to date, it was imperative for the security agencies to close-in on the smuggling syndicates who were cashing in on the obvious petrol price differentials between Nigeria and neighboring countries to make illicit profits.
The NNPC boss explained further that apart from straining the ability of the Corporation to sustain the prevailing 100 per cent petrol importation in the face of increasing cost, the current situation was impacting negatively on NNPC’s resources for servicing Joint Venture Cash-Call and other obligations.
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