Senate to FG: Lift ban on fuel supply to border communities

The Senate on Tuesday urged the federal government to lift the subsisting ban placed on the supply of petroleum products to border communities across the country. This followed a motion by Senator Solomon Adeola (APC Ogun West). The government had, through the Nigeria Customs Service, banned the supply of petroleum products to filling stations within […]

The Senate on Tuesday urged the federal government to lift the subsisting ban placed on the supply of petroleum products to border communities across the country.

This followed a motion by Senator Solomon Adeola (APC Ogun West).

The government had, through the Nigeria Customs Service, banned the supply of petroleum products to filling stations within 20km of the borders.

The ban followed the complaints by the NNPC that filling stations in border towns were funnels for smuggling of subsidized petrol to neighbouring countries.

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The Senate said the ban had brought untold hardship to people in neighbouring communities.

It noted that the petrol subsidy removal by the government had substantially put paid to the smuggling of the products and therefore, should be allowed to circulate freely without restrictions.

It therefore urged the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service and the National Security Adviser to lift the subsisting ban and intensify preventive and enforcement measures to combat smuggling of all kinds.

Senator Adeola, in his motion, said: “This policy had brought untold hardship and major losses to businesses of the residents and indigenes of the affected border communities, which later made the Nigerian Customs to relax the policy slightly by giving license to two or three petrol stations in each of the local government areas that borders these neighbouring countries.

“But that remedy was just a drop of water in an ocean scarcity of petrol considering the mass population of the people affected in these border towns and communities”.

The Senate mandated its Committees on Customs and Excise, and National Security and Intelligence, when constituted, to ensure compliance and report back in four weeks for further legislative action.