Petrol smugglers were making N17m per truck under subsidy regime –Kyari

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, has revealed that petrol smugglers exploited subsidy loopholes, making around N17 million per truck in neighbouring countries.

Kyari made this disclosure while addressing journalists in Abuja on the government’s efforts to deregulate the oil and gas sector.

He explained that cross-border smuggling was rampant due to the fuel subsidy, with 6,000-litre truck netting smugglers no less than N17 million per trip.

Kyari noted, that the same truckload would generate no more than N500,000 if sold within Nigeria, for instance, in a state like Borno.

NOA seeks media support to promote essential family practice campaign

‘That’s how you killed Gadaffi’, angry Nigerians knock Libya over maltreatment of Super Eagles

He further stated that the country has stopped losing such revenue to smuggling since the subsidy was removed, as fuel prices are now adjusted to reflect their true market value.

He noted that there were over 20,000 pits dotted across the region responsible for crude oil theft but the scale has reduced over time due to the efforts of security agencies.

He said the ongoing issue of oil theft in the Niger Delta continues to be a major challenge, with military forces frequently discovering new illegal operations each week. This poses a serious problem for the federal government, as Nigeria struggles to meet its OPEC quota due to widespread oil theft.