The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Wednesday shocked many when it disclosed that it does not know the country’s actual fuel consumption.
The corporation said it only recently put machinery in motion to determine the actual volume of the commodity consumed by Nigerians daily.
Speaking at the Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference and Exhibition holding in Abuja, Chief Operating Officer, Downstream of NNPC, Henry Obih, stated that the mandate to determine actual consumption of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known petrol has been assigned to the National Executive Council to the NNPC.
Nigeria’s actual fuel consumption has been a controversial issue in recent times as the consumption figure is what determines the amount of money NNPC deducts from its revenue before making remittances to the Federation Account.
The NNPC had put Nigeria’s fuel consumption at 65 million, blaming the sharp rise from about 35 million barrels per day, on rising cases of smuggling of the commodity as evidenced in the proliferation of petrol stations along the country’s borders.
However, governors of the 36 states had faulted the 65 million litres per day consumption figure, stating that it was a ploy by the NNPC to cut down on its remittances into the federation account.
