By Faith Adama
Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA), Mal. Nuhu Ribadu, has stated that the removal of the fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu has effectively ended smuggling across the country.
Ribadu highlighted that the subsidy policy was mainly benefiting a small number of Nigerians and neighboring countries due to rampant smuggling.
During the ongoing Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Ribadu emphasized that the subsidy was being exploited by smugglers, with neighboring nations such as Niger, Chad, and Cameroon being the primary beneficiaries.
“As someone from a border community, I constantly receive calls about how Customs officials are making life harder for smugglers,” Ribadu remarked.
“What’s even more surprising is that some of those involved in facilitating the smuggling were also from the military. However, that’s all in the past now.
“The generals and security personnel who were once complicit in aiding fuel smugglers have been replaced by a new team,” he said.
He further criticized the subsidy system, noting that it had left Nigeria’s national oil corporation struggling while fueling the economies of other nations.
“We were effectively subsidizing fuel for Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Benin Republic, Ghana, and a few Nigerians who called themselves oil marketers,” Ribadu added.
Ribadu also declared that Nigeria’s subsidy system, which created an unregulated fuel market, was the only one of its kind in the world, and he hailed the end of fuel smuggling across the country.
“That era of welfare for these marketers is over,” he said.
The NSA also praised recent efforts by the Nigeria Customs Service, particularly Operation Whirlwind, which has helped curb smuggling activities.
In the same conference, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adeniyi, announced that the service had met its 2024 revenue target of N5.07 trillion.
Adeniyi confirmed that as of November 12, 2024, the Customs Service had collected exactly N5.07 trillion, with over a month left in the fiscal year. The service is on track to exceed its target by 10 percent.
Adeniyi also shared plans to establish a Customs university to further strengthen the service’s capacity.
