Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali, on Thursday said that over 38 million litres of PMS released in excess of actual consumption into the market finds its way out of the country daily.
Ali, who spoke at an interactive session with the House of Representatives Committee on Finance on the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Frame and Fiscal Strategy Paper, question why the NNPC releases about 98 million litres of PMS into the market daily when they estimated about 60 million litres as actual daily consumption.
The Customs boss, who was reacting to questions from the lawmakers on the proposed subsidy payment for 2022 and the over ?11 trillion deficit expected, said: “I remember that last year, we spoke about this. Unfortunately, this year, we are talking about subsidy again. The over ?11 trillion we are going to take as debt, more than half of it is going for subsidy.
“The issue is not about smuggling of petroleum products. I have always argue this with NNPC. 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, 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 litre per day? That is my problem. The issue of smuggling, if you release 98 million litre 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?”
Responding on why the Service is not remitting operating surplus from 7 percent cost of collection approved for the service to the CRF, Ali said the money is what is used by the service to pay salaries of staff and carry out other operation.
He said: “Nigeria Customs Service is the only organization today that has to fight to collect revenue. It is the only organization that losses its men in the course of collecting revenue nd enforcing anti-smuggling provisions. It is the only organization that raises its own funds on a regularly basis.
“As a result of this, the government agreed to give us 7 percent cost of collection. By my understanding, cost of collection is paying for our own labour. That is what we live on, that is what we pay our salaries with and fund our capital and overhead. There is no other law anywhere that gives us subvention from government. That is our sole income.
“In 2017, from November to May 2018, it was this money that we used to pay our salaries. There is no law anywhere that says we can go to government if there is any short fall. If we didn’t have this money, there would have been riot in my house because these men will not work without pay”.
On efforts at curbing the smuggling of foreign rice into the country, he said: “We are doing well in the area of land border. Our problem is in the marine area. We do not have adequate boats to patrol the water ways because that is where smugglers use in ferrying rice.
“We have been able to isolate some of the areas they are using. We are relating with the Navy to assist us in the high sea. We have also taken diplomatic angle because some of these rice come through Benin Republic”.
Ali said the service was given a revenue target of N1.67 trillion for the 2021 financial year but was able to generate N1.715 trillion, adding that with a revenue target of ?2.272 trillion for 2022, the service has generated N1.167 trillion as at July 2022.
He said the service plan to collect ?2.87 trillion, ?3.54 trillion and ?3.72 trillion in 2023, 2024 and 2025 respectively.
On why the Service failed to submit its statement of account to the Committee as demanded, Ali said “our account is with the Central Bank, the federations account is with the Central Bank. Throughout my life in the Service, I don’t think we have ever obtained any statement of account from the CBN.
“What we do is to reconcile our collection i.e. what we have collected and what we have remitted. So, we don’t have a statement of account. They will only give us statement of account on the money they keep for us which is our 7 percent cost of collection”.
On whether the Service will be able to meet its revenue target for the year, Ali said “as you know, the market fluctuate. There are also trade courses. For example, the Russia/Ukraine war which has impacted negatively on shipment of goods. So, for me to say that we will attain 100 performance may not be feasible”.
Deputy Chairman of the Committee who presided over the session, Rep. Saidu Musa Abdullahi said about 500 trucks is needed to ferry 38 million litres of PMS daily.
He said “If there is anything that has constitute nuisance and has become a drain in the economy today, it is this issue of subsidy and as a government, we have not done well. We owe it to the people of this country to do what is right for this country. We are talking about over N6 trillion going for subsidy payment that almost doesn’t exist.
“You talk about 38 million litres which amount to about 500 trucks leaving our shore on daily basis. We have investment in NIGCOMSAT. Have there been any time that our satellite capture images of trucks leaving our shore?
“I think it is very clear that what is required is the political will to put a halt to this. Considering the importance of the inter-dependence of these two arms of government, I think we should work together to put a halt to this. Posterity will be kind to us if we are able to proffer a lasting solution to this issue of subsidy because it is not sustainable.
“We talk about insecurity. This is the real course of it. The money that is supposed to go into the provision of social amenities is going into private pockets. I think there is need to work together to put a halt to this”.