The CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, said that people who illegally transport petrol made about N17 million for each truck carrying 6,000 liters to nearby countries, taking advantage of gaps in the subsidy system.
Kyari explained that smuggling across borders was very profitable because of fuel subsidies. Smugglers could make N17 million per trip. However, if they sold the same amount of petrol inside Nigeria, like in Borno State, they would only get N500,000.
Since the subsidies were removed, Kyari mentioned that smugglers no longer make money because fuel prices now match market prices.
“Subsidies caused differences in prices between places, which led to smuggling. Removing subsidies stopped the profit from smuggling,” Kyari said.
NNPC recently increased petrol prices to N998 in Lagos and N1,030 in Abuja, which is the second price hike in less than two months.
