Adewale Adeniyi, the acting Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has told border villages’ people that measures are being made to quickly restore the delivery of petroleum products there.
The sale of petroleum products to border settlements was prohibited in 2019 by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, according to Platinum Times.
Filling stations within 20 km of the borders were not permitted to receive or dispense petrol due to an order from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The order was implemented as part of Operation Swift Response, which oversaw the Buhari administration’s closure of the land border with the intention of preventing the illegal bunkering of the then-subsidized fuel to neighboring nations.
People who live in border regions have had a difficult time since 2019 because they must go 20 km to buy gasoline for their generators, especially given the unstable supply of electricity.
Communities around the border have been calling for a reassessment of the Buhari policy ever since President Bola Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy.
They contend that since the government no longer provides subsidies for gasoline, the prohibition on fuel distribution in border areas is no longer warranted.
The acting Comptroller General of Customs informed Platinum Times during a recent visit to Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, that the policy would be revisited soon.
Adebiyi told Platinum Times:
“On fuel supply in border communities, we are actively monitoring the situation. If you remember, there was a resolution by the Senate about two or three weeks ago expressing the same concern. We also have a shared understanding about this.
“We have made our position known to the National Security Adviser and we are hoping that in the next few days, there might be a review of this policy.”