The controller General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali (retd), has knocked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC limited that the company cannot justify the volume of the premium Motor Spirit, PMS they claim Nigerians are consuming per day to come up with the arbitrary figure of N6.34 trillion subsidies as the claim. The custom boss made this revelation while presenting a proposed 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy paper to the House of Reps Committee on Finance yesterday in Abuja, saying NNPC cannot be proved scientifically how they arrived at the 98million litre/day consumption in the country, Ali claimed the NNPC was making a projection in excess of 38million litre daily.
The committee had asked the custom CG about the possible deficit between N11tn to N12trn in the 2023 budget as hinted by the Ministry of Finance in the 2023-2025 MTEF/FSP.
The Buhari administration is proposing an N19.76trillion Naira for the 2023 fiscal year budget with about an N11.30 to N12.4 trillion deficit as explained by the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed when she appeared before the house committee and made a claim of N6.34 trillion subsidy for the next year.
However, Ali faulted the NNPC on the subsidy proposal saying he recall talking about the same thing with the house the previous year, he said they cannot talk about borrowing N11 trillion half of it will be used for subsidy payment, challenging the NNPC that it is not about the smuggling of the product.
He explained, “If we are consuming 60 million litres of PMS per day, by their own computation, why would you allow the release of 98 million litres per day? If you know this is our consumption, why would you allow that release? Scientifically, you cannot tell me that if I fill my tank today, or tomorrow, I will fill the same tank with the same quantity of fuel. If I am operating a fuel station today and I go to Minna depot, lift petrol and take it to Kaduna, I may get to Kaduna in the evening and offload that fuel. There is no way I would have sold off that petrol immediately to warrant another load. So, how did you get to 60 million litres per day? That is my problem.
Ali insisted that “The issue of smuggling: if you release 98 million litres in actual and 60 million litres is used, the balance should be 38 million litres. How many trucks will carry 38 million litres every day? Which road are they following and where are they carrying this thing to?”
The committee Deputy Chairman, Saidu Abdullahi who chaired the hearing lamented that a substantial part of the so-called subsidy claim will end up in private pockets.
Meanwhile, the customs boss assured the committee that his agency will meet up with its obligation in the projected revenue of N2.272tn for 2022, N2.873tn for 2023, N3.540tn for 2024 and N3.752tn for 2025.
The lawmakers queried the sum of N6.7bn spent on legal matters out of N7.5 billion approved in the 2021 Appropriation Act, with another N9.2bn proposed in the 2023 budget.
Ali explained that his office wrote to the presidency seeking a virement of N4billion to carter for pending legal debts, noting that for defaults, the office might end up paying N20billion for the N3billion suit.
The committee reminded the custom boss of ensuring that as prescribed by the Act, 80 per cent of the surplus revenue should be remitted with immediate effect calling on the custom to forward any review on the amendment that may arise.
