The Chairman of Oil and Gas Traders Association in Ogun state, Chief Surajudeen Adebisi Bada says filling stations at border communities are “conduit pipe” through which petroleum products are being smuggled out of Nigeria.
Bada noted that the number of filling stations within 20 kilometres radius of Nigerian borders were more than the number of filling stations inside the towns.
He spoke with newsmen at the 2nd Edition of Youth in Community programme put together by Abeokuta North Zonal Community Development Committee.
According to him, the border closure and the stoppage of fuel supply to filling stations in border areas is a wise one, positing that the step was aimed at uplifting the well-being of Nigerians.
He said, “though, the policy will affect the lives of innocent people living in border areas, but the safety and security of the country and its citizens should be above every other interest.
“I pity and sympathize with people living in border areas because this policy will greatly affect their livelihood. I want to appeal to the federal government to make alternative measures to ease their sufferings in this regard.
“In the past years, you and I know what we usually go through in December period; in relation to fuel scarcity, but by the grace of God and the current border closure on fuel, coupled with the quantity of fuel we import into the country, there would be nothing like fuel scarcity.”
On his part, a former House of Representatives aspirant in Ogun state, Bolaji Oloyede, charged Nigerian youths not to rely on government for employment, saying that it cannot create enough jobs for graduates in the country.
He advised the youths to equip themselves with entrepreneurship skills, positing that laziness and idleness are the factors that contributed to high rate of social vices among Nigerian youths.
“The youths should avail themselves of skill acquisition training as government cannot create enough jobs for everybody, stressing that they need to equip themselves with entrepreneurship skill to curb criminality in the society,” he said.
