The closure of Nigerian land borders has ended the smuggling of 70 trucks of petrol across the Adamawa international borderline daily.
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which stated this, said the quantity of petrol coming to Adamawa State has dropped from 100 trucks per day to about 30.
The state Operations Controller of the DPR, Alhaji Ibrahim Ciroma, who stated this, said this has happened because the border closure has curbed smuggling of petrol to neighbouring countries along the Adamawa international borderline.
Chiroma made the disclosure Friday while on inspection tour of the border villages in Bele in Maiha local government area and Gurin in Fufore local government area.
The DPR coordinator, who was touring filling stations 20 kilometers to the border to ensure compliance with a Federal Government directive, stressed that the border closure had done much good in the fight against fuel smuggling.
He said, “Prior to this closure, the number of trucks we received in Adamawa was up to 100 trucks per day but today it has dropped to between 30 and 40 trucks. So, it’s a clear indication that fuel is not finding its way out of the country.”
Ciroma added that with the drop in supply and without scarcity in the state, “it is a confirmation that 70 trucks of the products lifted by some marketers were smuggled out of the country.”
He said compliance by filling stations in prohibited areas had been effected 100 percent, and that measures were also taken to ensure that other filling stations not within the prohibited zones were selling so that people within the prohibited zone can easily get fuel.”
On efforts to see that Adamawa people do not experience fuel scarcity during Christmas and New Year, Ciroma said all neccessary measures were in place.
“I want the people of Adamawa to be rest assured that there will be no scarcity. We have substantial quantity at the Yola depot and all filling stations are selling except those in prohibited zones,” he said.
THISDAY