7th October, 2023
By Adejoke Adeleye/Ogun
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said the Federal Government will establish petrol stations at border areas of the country to curb the hardship being inflicted on the people by measures introduced to curb smuggling of the product and removal of fuel subsidy.
The Controller General of Nigeria Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, revealed this during his visit to Customs Area 1 Command in Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital on Friday.
According to him, the establishment of the filling stations will ease the hardship of residents of the border areas who are now paying outrageous prices for petrol as a result of measures being implemented to curb smuggling of the product and removal of fuel subsidy.
Recall that a group in Ipokia, a border area along Idi-Iroko – Benin Republic, had requested the federal government to open filling stations in the border communities and lift the ban on the sales of petrol within 20 20-kilometres radius of the international borders.
PM News reports that Ipokia Youth Forum made the plea through a human rights activist, Kehinde Bamiwole at the 5th annual Independence Programme organised in Ipokia local government area of Ogun State.
The group said the ban on the sale of petroleum products in the border areas had made life difficult for the people living in the communities.
It noted that the removal of fuel subsidy removal has jacked up the price of petrol to as much as N1000 per litre at the border areas.
However, while pledging that the bad experience on petrol subsidy removal would soon end, Adeniyi expressed his concern over the high rate of smuggling of hard drugs into the country from neighbouring countries.
He said, “The country’s security is at great risk because youths have access to these drugs and are misbehaving seriously by taking it.”
He confirmed that the drugs are not only smuggled into the state by land, but also through creeks, and air routes.
He pleaded with security officials to synergise with one another to curb the smuggling of of drugs, especially, marijuana and other hard drugs into the country.
Adeniyi listed 53 sacks, and 569 parcels of cannabis sativa among the contraband seized by operatives of Ogun 1 Area Command of Customs between September 18 and September 30, 2023.
Other seized items are 1,436 used pneumatic tyres, weighing a total of 1,179 kilograms, 3,149 bags of foreign parboiled rice, each weighing 50 kilograms, 32 vehicles used for conveyance, among other items.
The Controller General, who noted that the use of Tokunbo tyres was the main cause of the increase in accidents on the highway, listed the duty paid value of seizure to be N241,977,943.00.
He said the seizures were executed at various locations, including roads in Papa, Ajegunle, Ilaro, Imasayi, Joga, Ijebu-Ode and Odogbolu bush paths, all in Ogun State.