Petrol Smuggling: The Humiliation of Hammed Ali

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The Controller-General of Customs, retired Colonel Hameed Ali, who, with his men, is burdened with the responsibility of tackling the smuggling of petroleum products to neighbouring nations, is bemoaning, instead of taking action to tame the menace.

Last Monday, Ali was a big mess at the public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance on the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, blaming everybody, except himself and his boys, for Nigerian petroleum products diverted to as far as Mali.

The Customs boss is censuring the Department of Petroleum Resources for approving filling stations along the land borders, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, for supplying the commodity to the stations against Customs’ advice.
Ali said: “The issue of smuggling of fuel from Nigeria to the neighbouring countries is simply because of price differential. The prices outside our shores and borders are higher, and that is what attracts people to move this product outside. And this product is not only limited to Benin, Niger or Chad, it goes up to Mali.”

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Smugglers are not invincible. Ali and his boys know them. They can end smuggling of petroleum products if they wish to do it. This is the truth that must be told. Ali and his boys must be held accountable. Enough of this mess at Nigeria’s boundaries. Enough of the smuggling of Nigeria’s petroleum products abroad.

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