By Ahmed Idris
Governors of the 36 states of the federation on Wednesday accused the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of fraudulently doubling the nation’s daily petrol consumption from about 30 million litres to 60 million litres.
Addressing State House correspondents at the end of a meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja, chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Governor of Zamfara state, Mr. Abdulaziz Yari, said the governors also called for a thorough probe of oil subsidy payments from 2015 to date.
He said the governors also directed that all petrol stations less than 10 kilometres to the nation’s borders should be shut by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) with immediate effect.
He said the decision was as a result of claim by the NNPC that the sudden hike in petrol consumption is due to illegal export to neighbouring countries.
Yari also told journalists that the governors directed that all trucks transporting petroleum products should have tracking devices installed in them in order to monitor their movement to discharge petroleum products at filling stations.
He said the governors also demanded that the NNPC must henceforth clearly differentiate its earnings in sales as against taxes before remitting funds to the Federation Account to avoid unexplained shortfalls.
According to him, the governors also raised concerns over Joint Venture Cash Call claims made by the NNPC, and directed that further payments should be suspended until the corporation gives details of exactly how much has been paid since 2015.
Those who attended the meeting were Governors Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom state, Godwin Obaseki of Edo state, Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa state, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state and Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi state.
Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr. Udoma Udo Udoma; and the representative of the Group Managing Director of NNPC also attended the meeting.
