The Comptroller – General of Nigeria Customs Service , Rtd Colonel Hameed Ali, stunned Nigerians Wednesday by declaring that bad governance fuels smuggling in the country.
This is even as the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, said subsidy on pump price of petroleum remains, pending implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Lamenting on the problem of smuggling, while making submission at an interactive session Senate Committee on Finance had with revenue generating agencies, the Customs boss said most of the communities at border lines in Nigeria lacks presence of government in terms of required infrastructure like road, hospital, electricity, pipe borne water etc .
According to him, residents of such communities make a living by rendering one service or the other to smugglers and not in anyway, engaged by government at whatever level.
This, he said, make people of such communities to join smugglers in fighting Customs operatives at the borders and invariably paved way for many of the smugglers to enter the country with their contrabands.
“Smuggling is one of the biggest challenges the Nigeria Customs Service is facing in its operations aimed at generating revenues for the country .
“Though the menace is global but more worrisome in Nigeria because of collaboration of many Nigerians residing in communities across the border lines.
“These Nigerians rather than help Customs operatives to expose and arrest the smugglers, joined them to fight the operatives.
“All these are fuelled by lack of presence of government at the border communities which made Customs to set up border management committee as a platform of carrying out Corporate Social Responsibility ( CSR),” he lamented.
He submitted further that for smuggling to stop, required technology and adequate manpower must be put in place .
According to him, 139 scanners have been ordered for by the revenue generating agency for required technological surveillance at the various ports and borders .
In his own submission before the Commitee , the GMD of NNPC’, Mele Kyari confirmed that subsidy is provided for in the 2022 budget proposal.
This he explained is as a result of wide gap between landing cost of N256 per litre to N162 pump price at the various filling stations.
He however added that the issue of subsidy will be taken care of when the recently signed Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), comes into full implementation .
