Subsidy: One man would bring one ship and claim three while depot owners claimed for products — Makinde
According to a report by The Nation News, on Sunday, September 27, 2026, Hon. Rotimi Makinde, a former PPMC staff member who spent 20 years at the Ibadan Depot and a former member of the House of Representatives, has described Nigeria’s former oil subsidy system as a major source of corruption and fraud.
Makinde said the subsidy regime was not a genuine policy designed to benefit Nigerians, but a system that allowed serious irregularities to continue within the country’s petroleum industry.
He explained that he was speaking from his experience as an insider, having worked with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for two decades.
According to him, he served as an accountant responsible for recording petroleum product sales at the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Ibadan Depot.
Makinde said his position gave him the opportunity to see the records and understand how petroleum products were accounted for under the system.
He also referred to his experience as a former federal lawmaker, noting that he served on several important committees of the House of Representatives.
These included the Downstream Petroleum Committee, Finance Committee, Subsidy Probe Committee of 2012 and the Petroleum Industry Bill Committee of the 7th Assembly.
According to him, his experiences in both the petroleum industry and the National Assembly exposed him to the problems affecting Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
He said the industry operated in an environment where important information was often hidden, while poor accountability and corruption continued to affect the country.
Makinde alleged that the subsidy system was surrounded by false figures and questionable claims involving production costs, petroleum imports, landing costs, storage and fuel consumption.
He claimed that Nigeria was effectively subsidising the consumption of petroleum products in neighbouring countries while Nigerians continued to experience fuel shortages and long queues.
He further said the country borrowed money to import petroleum products despite having crude oil resources, while huge debts accumulated over products that Nigerians allegedly did not consume.
According to him, the financial burden created by the subsidy system became so large that it put serious pressure on the Nigerian economy, while some banks reportedly made substantial amounts of money through subsidy claims.
He said, “One man would bring one ship and claim for three. Depot owners collected subsidies for products that never left their tanks.”
Makinde argued that the removal of the subsidy was therefore one of the most significant steps taken to address the problems in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
He said the decision by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29, 2023, when he announced that “Subsidy is gone,” required courage because of the interests that had developed around the system.
According to Makinde, previous administrations may have been aware of some of the problems associated with the subsidy regime but did not take the same step.
He also warned against calls for the return of fuel subsidy, saying such demands could represent an attempt by groups that benefited from the old system to regain their interests.
Makinde maintained that ordinary Nigerians were not the major beneficiaries of the subsidy system.
He argued that Nigerians mainly experienced the negative effects through fuel scarcity, long queues, cheap smuggled petroleum products and the growing burden of national debt.
He said the savings from subsidy removal must be properly accounted for and used to benefit Nigerians.
He also called for functional refineries, effective regulation of the downstream sector and better implementation of CNG programmes and other palliatives aimed at helping vulnerable Nigerians.
Makinde concluded that Nigeria should not return to the former subsidy system, arguing that doing so would reverse the progress made since its removal.
He maintained that President Tinubu had chosen a difficult path by removing the subsidy and expressed the view that history would eventually judge the decision positively.
COURTESY: OLATUNJI—DISU
