…Seek ban on filling stations at border posts
Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
State governors yesterday accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of fraudulently doubling the nation’s daily petrol consumption from about 30 million litres to 60 million litres, and called for a thorough probe of oil subsidy payments from 2015 to date.
They have also directed that all petrol stations located 10 kilometres to the nation’s borders be immediately shut by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) until they are recertified. The decision followed NNPC’s excuse that the sudden hike in petrol consumption was due to illegal export to neighbouring countries.
The governors further advocated that all trucks transporting petroleum products be installed with tracking device in order to monitor their movement to discharge stations.
They also demanded that NNPC must henceforth clearly differentiate its earnings in sales as against taxes before remitting funds to the Federation Account to avoid unexplained shortfalls.
The states chief executives who equally raised concerns over Joint Venture Cash Call claims made by NNPC, directed that further payments for such should be suspended until the corporation gives details of exactly how much has been paid since 2015.
A delegation of the governors, led by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, expressed these concerns when they met with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at a meeting on Wednesday night at the Aso Rock Villa, on his return from his two-day official visit to Benue State.
Also in attendance at the closed-door meeting were Governors Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom); Godwin Obaseki (Edo); Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa); Nasir el-Rufai, Kaduna; and Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi).
The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, and that of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, as well as a representative of the NNPC GMD, also attended the meeting which ended at few minutes after 8pm.
Yari, briefing State House Correspondents at the end of the meeting, said, “this is the second time we are meeting with NNPC in respect of remittances into the federation account.