Olusesan Oba
Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, has revealed that Nigeria is losing billions of naira due to an epidemic of fuel smuggling.
During a press briefing in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, on Monday, Adeniyi stated that the illicit trade, driven by significant price disparities between Nigeria and its neighboring countries, has reached a crisis level.
“The situation is dire… Smugglers are exploiting the price difference to reap huge profits, depriving the nation of much-needed revenue,” he said.
To combat this menace, Customs launched Operation Whirlwind, resulting in the seizure of over 150,950 liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) valued at N105.9 million in just two weeks. However, Adeniyi acknowledged that these seizures represent only a fraction of the illegal trade’s estimated billions.
“The consequences of inaction are severe,” Adeniyi warned. “If left unchecked, this epidemic will further deplete our foreign exchange reserves, exacerbate economic challenges, and fund illegitimate activities.”
The Customs boss vowed to stem the tide of the illegal trade and restore sanity to the nation’s fuel sector.
