Headline

We Don’t Know Exact Daily Fuel Consumption – FG

Published

3 years ago

March 27, 2022

…Petrol still smuggled out of this country, marketers say

As a country, we still cannot tell the exact volume of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, which we consume on a daily basis, the Federal Government has said.

It stated this just as oil marketers explained that Nigeria’s inability to give a definite figure on the amount of petrol it consumes daily was due to the continued smuggling of PMS out of the country.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, stated that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited had also agreed that Nigeria could not tell the exact amount of petrol consumed across the country daily.

He disclosed this in an interview with his media team, led by his Senior Adviser, Media and Communications, Horatius Egua, which was made available to our correspondent in Abuja on Friday.

Asked to react to the N3tn fuel subsidy proposal by NNPC, amid concerns about the country’s PMS consumption figure, Sylva replied, “I would have preferred that this question be directed to the NNPC.

“I have made my views known about this issue in the past. NNPC has agreed with me that they are not certain about the exact consumption figure.”

He said the truth was that if the country’s petroleum products were smuggled outside the country, nobody could say what volume was involved today, tomorrow or next week, adding that NNPC could not say they know these figures.

“It’s more or less fueling a criminal economy. The NNPC imports the products, and nobody knows the exact destination of the products at the end of the day,” Sylva stated.

He added, “The imported products come to Nigeria, and from there filters out of our borders to neighbouring countries.

“So, as a country, we cannot tell the exact volume of petroleum products that we consume on a daily basis. All we have been doing is to assume the level of consumption over a period and work with that.”

He, however, expressed belief that the NNPC probably had a better answer to this, stressing that “personally, I dont.

“I have said this publicly before that I don’t know the figure. When I assumed office, initially I was told that our daily consumption was 66 million litres.

“Then, when fuel prices increased from N145 to N162, the consumption figure temporarily fell to about 40 something million litres per day, because the arbitrage opportunity reduced,” Sylva stated.

He added, “Then the value of the naira dropped again, and the number went up again to over 60 million litres. I am told the figure sometimes rise to as high as 90 or over 100 million litres. I don’t know how that happens.

“At this rate, I have said if anyone is looking at a criminal enterprise, look no further than the fuel subsidy.”

This, the minister said, was why he had continued to advocate the removal of fuel subsidy from the country’s PMS pricing template and deregulate.

He said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had done everything to resolve the issue, including the closure of the country’s borders with neighbouring countries, yet the criminality was not stopped.

“The truth is that what the President could do was to close the ‘formal’ borders. What about the illegal routes?,” Sylva asked.

On what could be done, the minister said if the subsidy component was taken out through deregulation, smuggling of PMS to neighbouring nations would cease.

“Of course, we need the market from there. But now we are punishing ourselves because every litre we import at our expense will always find its way outside the country,” he stated.

He added, “Now, the government is trying to subsidise our citizens so that our people will at least get the benefit of the subsidy on petroleum products.

“But, now because of how our borders are, it is very difficult. Now, we are inadvertently subsidising the whole of Africa. This is the thing we cannot handle.”

Also speaking on the matter, the Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers of Nigeria, Clement Isong, told our correspondent that the cheap fuel in the country had remained an incentive to smugglers.

He said, “The higher the price (of petrol) is outside the country and you see prices where they are in the country, the natural response is that normal people such as farmers, okada drivers, transporters, etc, will leave their jobs to go and sell petrol.

“This is because of the mark-up. This is why, particularly in Abuja, you see many people carrying jerrycans of fuel selling them on major roads. This also plays along our borders.

“For as long as the international price continues to rise and we keep our own prices where they are, what will happen is that those countries will suck the products out of Nigeria and you simply will not find the product in Nigeria.”

Isong added, “If you go to those countries, the marketers there will tell you that they are unable to sell because of the product coming from Nigeria is killing their market. This happens in all the countries around Nigeria.”

He stated that the normal supply chain volumes would continue to go down because the products were leaving Nigeria, describing those smuggling out PMS as ordinary everyday citizens.

“This is because they simply make more money buying from here at N162-N165/litre and going across the border to sell at N500/litre. It is more money for them and it is simply the law of economics, called arbitrage, which is a market distortion,” Isong stated.

He added, “And it is what the subsidy on petrol does on Nigeria, a market distortion. Something is worth N500 and you’re selling at N200. Now where you’re supposed to find it at N200 you will not see it because it has moved to where the actual value of N500 is.

“This can also contribute to the scarcity we see in parts of Nigeria. That is why NNPC if it is meant to normally supply 60 million litres per day, for it to keep queues out of filling stations, it will have to increase its supply to 90 to 100 million litres. That’s the problem.”

The MOMAN official said Nigeria must wean itself of fuel subsidy, “because we are killing both our present and future.

“We simply cannot afford it. We are borrowing money for it.”

PUNCH.

Related Topics:#FG NNPC Petroleum Timipre Sylva

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Headline

Israel-Iran War: Stranded Nigerians Cry For Help From Underground Shelters

Published

12 hours ago

June 21, 2025

Editor

Nigerians caught in the hostilities between Israel and Iran have called for help from underground shelters amid heavy exchange of missiles between the two countries.

Those who spoke to Saturday PUNCH slammed the Nigerian government for not doing enough, adding that other countries had started evacuating their citizens.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government said it was awaiting border clearance to rescue over 1,000 Nigerians in the warring countries.

Rising casualties

According to reports, no fewer than 264 people, including 70 women and children, have died in the two countries since the war started.

The war began last Friday when Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, with guided missiles and air raids pounding suspected Iranian nuclear and military sites, including air-defence installations, as well as residential areas in eastern Tehran, notably the Shahrak-e-Mahallati neighbourhood, home to senior IRGC commanders, and targets in Tabriz and other cities.

High-ranking Iranian military figures, including General Mohammad Bagheri and IRGC commander Hossein Salami, were among those killed in the Israeli offensive.

In a statement, Tehran described the strikes from Israel as “the most direct act of war” in decades of covert hostilities.

In a retaliatory response on June 13, 2025, Iran launched a large-scale missile barrage, firing over 100 ballistic missiles at Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, where the Nigerian embassy is located.

Checks by The PUNCH revealed that most Nigerians living in Israel are based in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Sources confirmed that nearly all economic, social, and religious activities have been suspended in major Israeli cities.

Nigerians recount ordeal

In separate interviews with our correspondents, some Nigerians living in major Israeli cities recounted their ordeals.

A Nigerian in Tel Aviv, Ekene Abaka, said since the onslaught began, members of the Nigerian community in the city had joined other foreigners to take cover in underground shelters provided by the Israeli military, pending an opportunity to escape the country.

“We are in an Israeli bomb shelter and I can’t answer calls right now,” Abaka said in a hasty Facebook message to The PUNCH.

A software engineer living in Jerusalem, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Nigerians in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem had been scrambling for the past few days since the face-off between the two nations started.

The source, who also claimed to be speaking from a bomb shelter, said though many Israelis had died, no casualties had been recorded among Nigerians so far.

He, however, lamented that the Nigerian embassy had closed all official and diplomatic activities without supporting distressed Nigerians in the country.

“Most of the areas where Nigerians live in Israel are in Tel Aviv. As a matter of fact, that is the main area where most of the missiles are going. I live in Jerusalem.

“There are about three families in Jerusalem from Nigeria, but the majority of Nigerians live in Tel Aviv. We are on the run.

“The Nigerian embassy is situated in Tel Aviv. It has shut down. It’s not doing anything about the issue at the moment. We ran into a bomb shelter to protect ourselves from missiles coming from Iran,” he added.

Meanwhile, in a video shared on Tuesday by Travels Vlog, a Facebook page documenting the daily experiences of Nigerians in Israel and other parts of the Middle East, some Nigerians were seen scrambling into a bomb shelter after the Israeli government sounded the security alarm, warning of incoming Iranian missiles.

“Everybody is running helter-skelter now. I didn’t grab my water. Oh! Those are the missiles there. They have fallen now,” one of them cried out in fear.

But as they approached one of the shelters, they found it locked.

“Oh! It’s closed. Why did they lock this place? Let’s go, there is another one over there. We can’t stay here. This place is not safe,” another voice urged as the group rushed off in search of an open shelter under the night sky.

When they finally reached a covered spot, they sat on the ground, visibly shaken, waiting as the blaring alarm slowly faded and the missiles vanished from sight.

The Travels Vlog host, identified as one Solomon, explained in a live video on Wednesday that people were informed about incoming Iranian missiles through a text message from the government.

“There are missiles coming in, but 10 minutes before they hit, the Israeli government detects them and sends us a direct message to immediately leave our homes and run to the shelter. A few minutes afterwards, the security siren starts blaring, and that’s when panic sets in,” he said.

Countries move to evacuate citizens

The situation in the Middle East has prompted governments around the world to evacuate their nationals from both Iran and Israel, where airspace closures and missile fire have made civilian travel dangerous or impossible.

No fewer than 12 countries, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Greece, and Bulgaria, have contacted their citizens in the warring nations and repatriated hundreds by air, sea, and road.

Many evacuees crossed land borders on foot before boarding repatriation flights from neighbouring countries.

Agence France-Presse reported on Thursday that the Czech Republic and Slovakia flew home 181 people on government planes, while Greece returned home 105 of its citizens plus a number of foreign nationals via Egypt.

The United States announced plans on Wednesday to evacuate Americans by air and sea, while China evacuated more than 1,600 citizens from Iran and several hundred more from Israel.

The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement issued on Tuesday night, revealed that the Nigerian Embassies in Israel and Tehran (Iran) were actively reaching out to affected citizens and coordinating efforts to ensure their safe return.

However, as of Thursday night, the Federal Government had yet to evacuate any Nigerian trapped in the countries.

A woman, identified as Hope Omobeauty, during Solomon’s Vlog podcast, said some of her people had been trying to leave Israel but had found no way.

“I have people in Israel who are trying to leave, but there is no way,” she said.

Collapse of businesses

The Israeli government has shut down all activities until at least Sunday at 8pm, further worsening conditions for Nigerians in the country.

Israel announced that all educational institutions, including kindergartens, daycare centres, schools, special education programmes, summer camps, youth organisations, and higher education facilities, had been closed.

Speaking about this, the engineer told The PUNCH that the closures had negatively affected the livelihoods of Nigerians.

He lamented the “indifference and insensitivity” of the Nigerian embassy to their predicament.

“In Israel, rent is paid every month. At workplaces, you’re paid per hour. But all business activities have been shut down, so there is no income for anyone at the moment. We are scared because we don’t even know how we will pay our next rent or feed our children,” he said.

“There is an announcement that everything will reopen on Sunday, schools, markets, and places of worship, but it is not guaranteed. It all depends on how Iran continues the war, whether they will carry on with the bombardment or not. We don’t sleep at night because that’s when the missiles fall.

“What the officials at the Nigerian embassy do is perform their formal obligations, grant visas and handle diplomatic or travel assignments. They don’t engage in the welfare of Nigerians. If anything happens, you are on your own. They don’t do anything to help Nigerian citizens here.”

FG awaits border clearance

Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 Nigerians stranded in Iran have remained in limbo, as the Federal Government awaits final border clearance from Armenia to begin their evacuation.

According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, the Nigerian Embassy in Tehran has completed logistical arrangements to move citizens to Armenia, the nearest border country, where they are to be airlifted home from the capital, Yerevan.

He told The PUNCH that embassy officials were in close talks with Armenian authorities to finalise the movement of evacuees across the Iran-Armenia border.

While bus transport has been secured, approval from Armenia to allow Nigerians to cross the border is still pending.

“The Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy met officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Armenia, which is the nearest border, to discuss modalities of moving stranded Nigerians via buses to Yerevan, while waiting to be airlifted to Nigeria.

“The Embassy has also advised Nigerians to stay away from demonstrations, remain in safe areas, and stay glued to their phones for evacuation messages once arrangements are concluded.

“At the moment, the Embassy has concluded arrangements with bus companies to hire buses that will convey us all to the transit country, Yerevan, Armenia. However, we are awaiting permission from the transit country before moving from locations already earmarked for evacuation,” Ebienfa said.

He said to prevent complications at the crossing, the embassy was coordinating with Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs by submitting updated lists of evacuees, including personal details.

“This is to ensure a smooth passage through the border and avoid any bottlenecks.

“All hands are on deck to get permission, including for transit and final airlifting to Abuja from Yerevan, Armenia,” he stated.

Headline

Egypt, South Africa Universities Beat Nigeria At Global QS Rankings

Published

13 hours ago

June 21, 2025

Editor

For the third year in a row, no Nigerian university has made it into the top 1,000 of the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings, with the 2026 edition released on June 19, 2025, once again excluding all 297 Nigerian universities from the global elite list.

Only three Nigerian institutions were ranked at all, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

UI and UNILAG were ranked in the 1,001–1,200 band for both the 2025 and 2026 editions, while ABU appeared for the first time in the 1,201–1,400 range.

The QS World University Rankings are compiled annually by Quacquarelli Symonds and assess institutions based on eight key performance indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty/student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio, international student ratio, international research network, employment outcomes, and sustainability.

Despite longstanding reputations and a high number of graduates annually, Nigerian universities continue to underperform in areas such as research output, international collaboration, and employability metrics, factors that heavily influence global rankings.

Across Africa, Egypt led the continent with 20 universities on the 2026 list, followed by South Africa with 11, and Tunisia with four.

Ghana and Morocco each had two universities listed, while Kenya, Libya, Sudan, Uganda, and Ethiopia had one each.

Notably, the only African universities to break into the top 300 are from South Africa with University of Cape Town ranking 150th and University of Witwatersrand ranking 291st

QS World University Rankings 2026: Global Top 10

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology – United States
2. Imperial College London – United Kingdom
3. Stanford University – United States
4. University of Oxford – United Kingdom
5. Harvard University – United States
6. University of Cambridge – United Kingdom
7. ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology – Switzerland
8. National University of Singapore – Singapore
9. University College London – United Kingdom
10. California Institute of Technology – United States

These institutions not only lead in research output and faculty reputation but also boast substantial international partnerships and high graduate employability scores.

Headline

Iran Nabs 22 Suspected Israeli Spies Amidst Escalating Conflict

Published

13 hours ago

June 21, 2025

Editor

Police in Iran’s Qom province said Saturday that 22 people “linked to Israeli spy services” had been arrested since June 13, Fars news agency reported.

“22 people were identified and arrested on charges of being linked to the Zionist regime’s spy services, disturbing public opinion and supporting the criminal regime,” the agency said, citing the head of police intelligence in Iran’s Qom province.

It came after Iranian police announced the arrest on Thursday of 24 people accused of spying for Israel and of seeking to tarnish the country’s image, according to a statement carried by Tasnim news agency.

A European national was also arrested for spying, Tasnim reported on Friday, without giving their nationality or the date of the arrest.

Anambra CP seeks community cooperation to nab Oko attack hoodlums
Iran regularly announces arrests of suspected spies. Several have been executed in recent weeks.

Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said at least 223 people have been arrested nationwide on charges related to collaboration with Israel, cautioning that the actual figure was likely higher.

AFP