The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has assured Nigerians that the country will not face petrol scarcity in December and beyond because adequate supply arrangements have been made.
Umar Ajia, chief financial officer of NNPC Ltd, stated this in Abuja yesterday while testifying before an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives on Nigeria's fuel subsidy regime. According to Ajia, the company has put adequate measures in place to prevent petrol scarcity in the country even after the 2023 general election.
"We have extended our Direct Sales Direct Purchase (DSDP) contract by six months in order to maintain PMS supply across the country." The DSDP contract actually ended in August, and it is a very dangerous time to start retendering for that because we are approaching winter, and these are the difficult "embers months" when we normally avoid fuel scarcity. Because scarcity in Nigeria is strongly associated with the Christmas season, if you tender now, the tendering process will take one or two months.
"So, the board approved extending the contract for six months so that we have passed the winter and the election, otherwise we could have problems during the election," he explained. The chairman of the Committee, Rep. Ibrahim Al- Mustapha (APC-Sokoto), stated that the petrol price in Nigeria should be raised in line with the global price. According to Al-Mustapha, petrol costs N536 per liter in Niger Republic, N577 in Mali, and N389 in Benin Republic.
Ajia, on the other hand, claimed that petrol subsidized for Nigerians was being smuggled to neighboring countries, claiming that figures of petrol consumed in the do not always reflect the true picture.
He claimed that because of the porous borders, subsidized petrol meant for Nigerians travels as far as Mali and other neighboring countries.
"If you have N5 million, you can cross the borders with trucks laden with petrol," he explained. "We have porous borders; yes, we have customs, but I don't know."