…request NCC urgent intervention
Following the directives of the Federal Government through the Nigeria Customs Service to suspend the supply of petroleum products to filling stations located within 20 kilometers to the nation’s borders with other countries, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ALTON) has cried out that this has already started having huge negative impacts on its members operations.
The group in a letter to the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC) urged the Commission to quickly intervene in the situation saying, “The directives is already having huge negative impact on our members’ operations and this may be significant if the necessary agencies of government do not urgently intervene in the situation.
So far the Nigeria Customs Service have stopped our members’ trucks in
Kebbi, Kano and Calabar from supplying diesel to the telecommunications
sites within the borders areas, which may lead to total shut down of communications system/services and by implications worsen the security operations within those areas”, ALTON stated in the letter.
The letter which was signed by ALTON Chairman, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo also
stated, “We hereby urgently request the immediate intervention of the
Commission and the Federal Government as by midday on Saturday, November 9, 2019, major hub sites carrying heavy traffic will be shut down due to lack of diesel.
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Recall that, the Federal Government has directed that petroleum products
should not be supplied to filling stations within 20km of the borders.
Customs Comptroller General, Hameed Ali issued the memo signed by Chidi A, the Deputy Comptroller General for Enforcement, Investigation and
Inspection on Thursday, November 7, 2019.
The suspension of petroleum products to fuel stations around land borders
would be carried out under the ongoing Operation Swift Response.
The memo reads, “The Comptroller-General of Customs has directed that
henceforth no petroleum product no matter the tank size is permitted to be
discharged in any filling station with 20 kilometres of the border.”
“Consequently, you are all to ensure strict and immediate compliance,
please.”
Earlier, former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum, Maikanti Baru raised an alarm about number of filling stations springing up in border towns.
He said the filling stations are funnels for fuel smuggling to neighbouring
countries.
“There is a thriving market for Nigerian petrol in all the neighbouring
countries of Niger Republic, Benin Republic, Cameroon, Chad and Togo and
even Ghana which has no direct borders with Nigeria.”
