Business

Boris Johnson To Consider Using Army To Supply Petrol Stations

Boris Johnson to consider using army to supply petrol stations

Hundreds of soldiers could be scrambled to deliver fuel to petrol stations running dry across the country due to panic buying and a shortage of drivers under an emergency plan expected to be considered by Boris Johnson on Monday.

The prime minister will gather senior members of the cabinet to scrutinise “Operation Escalin” after BP admitted that a third of its petrol stations had run out of the main two grades of fuel, while the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), which represents almost 5,500 independent outlets, said 50% to 90% of its members had reported running out. It predicted that the rest would soon follow.

The developments led to growing fears that the UK could be heading into a second “winter of discontent” and warnings that shelves could be emptier than usual in the run-up to Christmas.

In a bid to prevent the crisis from deepening further, ministers including the business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, transport secretary Grant Shapps and home secretary Priti Patel gathered for a midday meeting on Sunday to discuss options – including Operation Escalin.

Conceived years ago during the planning for a no-deal Brexit, it would mean hundreds of soldiers being drafted in to drive a reserve fleet of 80 tankers. It is understood that it would take up to three weeks to fully implement, because some of those mobilised may already be on other deployments and others could be reservists. Escalin was touted as an option last week, but government sources downplayed the chance of its activation.

Late on Sunday night, Kwarteng also announced that fuel firms would be temporarily excluded from the Competition Act for the purposes of sharing information and optimising supply. He admitted there had been “some issues with supply chains”, but insisted there was still “plenty of fuel at refineries and terminals”. Officials said the move would make it easier for firms to “share information, so that they can more easily prioritise the delivery of fuel to the parts of the country and strategic locations that are most in need”.

The Escalin and other proposals will be put to Johnson on Monday afternoon, in a meeting where ministers are also expected to discuss more immediate solutions to try to influence people’s behaviour and put an end to the current levels of panic buying.

Ministers are exasperated because they think that the true magnitude of fuel shortages would have been tiny if the public were acting normally, and the HGV driver shortage would have only had a marginal effect, but media reports have prompted queues outside forecourts across the country. The PRA said demand at one service station had risen by 500% on Saturday compared with last week.

A source suggested that a high level of shortages will last at least another five days – and could go on even longer if people’s behaviour does not change. They called the situation a “catch-22”, because by making any interventions, the government could end up exacerbating the problem: “The more we seem to react to this, the more we end up driving it. But if we don’t react, it just carries on. We’re almost generating our own crisis.”

The shortage has also had major knock-on effects that ministers feel need urgent remedying, with teachers and doctors unable to fill up their tank to drive to school or hospital. The blunt communications strategy of insisting there is no lack of fuel is likely to be shifted to urging people to be mindful of others when buying petrol.

Attention is also turning to Christmas. Kate Martin of the Traditional Farm-fresh Turkey Association (TFTA) said the UK could face a “national shortage” of turkeys in the run-up to December.

The TFTA, which represents producers of high-end free-range turkeys, said it was “100% caused by a labour shortage” due to post-Brexit immigration rules, meaning “a whole host” of the workforce is “no longer available for us to use on a seasonal basis”.

The British Retail Consortium also said moves to relax immigration rules to fix supply chain issues was “too little, too late” for Christmas.

Andrew Opie, the group’s director of food and sustainability policy, predicted to the BBC that during the festive season, shoppers would see “less choice, less availability, possibly shorter shelf life as well, which is really disappointing because this could have been averted”.

Jim McMahon, Labour’s shadow transport secretary, claimed the government’s solution of streamlining HGV tests and granting about 5,000 extra visas for drivers and another 5,000 for poultry workers was “not good enough”. He said if ministers did not do more, “shelves will continue to be bare, with medicines not delivered and Christmas ruined for the nation”.

A Tory MP, David Morris, spelled out the scale of the challenge facing the government. He said: “I can remember the winter of discontent and I remember what was building up to it and this to me feels very, very reminiscent.”

Morris told the Guardian: “We’re not anywhere near that situation yet, but there are perfect storm analogies coming along that could put us into that territory.” He stressed it was a “historic problem” that ministers were trying to address, but admitted the pressure Covid was likely to put on the NHS this winter and the looming end of the universal credit uplift would make it a challenging winter for many.

Shapps on Sunday urged people to “be sensible” and blamed “one of the road haulage associations” for what he called a manufactured crisis, suggesting on Sky News that the group had leaked details from a meeting last week about driver shortages at fuel firms. However, the Road Haulage Association branded it a “disgraceful attack” concocted to “divert attention away” from the government’s handling of the issue.

Business

Dangote refinery commits to petrol price stability, reduction in Nigeria

Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals has reaffirmed its commitment to premium motor spirit price stability despite the fluctuations in global crude oil prices.

The 650,000 barrels per day refinery disclosed this in a statement on Monday by its spokesperson, Anthony Chiejiena.

This comes as crude oil prices dwindled around $63 to $65 per barrel while local petrol went between N910 per litre and N930 nationwide.

Reacting in a statement, Dangote Refinery said it is committed to alleviating the burden of fuel cost on Nigerians.

The company added that to the implementation of the Nigeria First Policy recently approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“This decision reflects our unwavering commitment to supporting the Nigerian economy and alleviating the burden on consumers from the increase in fuel prices by maintaining price stability.

“It underscores our dedication to providing affordable, reliable, and high-quality petroleum products without compromising operational efficiency and sustainability.

“Our approach aligns with the objectives of the federal government’s Nigeria First policy, which promotes the prioritisation of locally produced goods and services.

“By refining petroleum products domestically at the world’s largest single-train refinery, we are proud to make a substantial contribution to Nigeria’s energy security, foreign exchange savings, and overall economic resilience—aligning with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which is focused on addressing the nation’s economic challenges and improving the well-being of Nigerians. We are immensely grateful to His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, for making this possible through the commendable Naira-for-Crude Initiative, which has enabled us to consistently reduce the price of petroleum products for the benefit of all Nigerians.

“We assure all stakeholders—consumers, partners, and the government—of our continued dedication to operational excellence and national service.

“Dangote Petroleum Refinery remains committed to ensuring that the benefits of our local refining capacity are fully realised and enjoyed by the Nigerian populace. We will continue to prioritise affordability, quality, and national interest in every facet of our work,” the statement reads.

Recall that Tinubu approved the implementation of the Nigeria First Policy and ban on foreign goods.

Business

FAAC: FG, States, LGAs share N1.681tr in April

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared a total sum of N1.681 trillion, being April 2025 Federation Account Revenue to the Federal, States and the Local Governments at the May 2025 meeting held in Abuja.

The N1.681 trillion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N962.882 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N598.077 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N38.862 billion and Exchange Difference N81.407 billion.

A communiqué issued by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) indicated that total gross revenue of N2,848.721 trillion was available in the month of April 2025.

Total deduction for cost of collection was N101.051 billion while total transfers, interventions, refunds and savings was N1066.442 billion.

According to the communiqué, gross statutory revenue of N2,084.568 trillion was received for the month of April 2025.

This was higher than the sum of N1,718.973 trillion received in the month of March 2025 by N365.595 billion.

Gross revenue of N642.265 billion was available from the Value Added Tax (VAT) in April 2025. This was higher than the N637.618 billion available in the month of March 2025 by N4.647 billion.

The communiqué stated that from the N1,681. 228 trillion total distributable revenue, the Federal Government received total sum of N565.307 billion and the State Governments received total sum of N556.741 billion.

The Local government Council received N406.627 billion, while the sum of N152.553 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting State as derivation revenue.

On the N962.882 billion distributable statutory revenue, the communiqué stated that the Federal Government received N431.307 billion and the State Governments received N218.765 billion.

The Local Government Councils received N168.659 billion and the sum of N144. 151 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting States as derivation revenue.

From the N598.077 billion distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue, the Federal Government received N89.712 billion, the State Governments received N299.039 billion and the Local Government Councils received N209.327 billion.

A total sum of N5.829 billion was received by the Federal Government from the N38.862 billion Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL).

The State Governments received N19.431 billion and the Local Government Councils received N13.602 billion.

From the N81.407 billion Exchange Difference, the communiqué stated that the Federal Government received N38.459 billion and the State Governments received N19.507 billion.

The Local Government Councils received N15.039 billion, while the sum of N8.402 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting States as derivation revenue.

Bawa Mokwa Director (Press and Public Relations) said in April 2025, Petroleum Profit Tax(PPT), Oil and Gas Royalty, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), Value Added Tax (VAT), Excise Duty, Import Duty and CET Levies increased significantly while Companies Income Tax (CIT) decreased considerably.

Business

‘We Will Keep Crashing Rice Prices,’ BUA Chairman Rabiu Warns Hoarders

The Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has pledged to further lower the prices of rice and other food items, which he said have already decreased over the past year.

He commended President Bola Tinubu for granting waiver on imported food items, saying that his “foresight” helped crash food prices in the country.

In July 2024, the Tinubu administration announced the suspension of customs duties on imported food items to stem food inflation.

Speaking to State House Correspondents after meeting with President Tinubu on Thursday, Rabiu said BUA Foods keyed into that policy and was able to import quite a lot of wheat, maize and rice.

“And the moment the shipment started coming, we started processing, we crushed the prices of some of these commodities. And today I’m happy to inform you that the price of rice is about N60,000 from what it was last year at N110,000. Flour is today N55,000 Naira per 50 kilo bag.

“Maize is about N30,000. And this happened because of Mr President’s foresight and vision by introducing that one-off duty waiver for a period of six months, and with that, we’ve been able to bring down the prices of these commodities,” Rabiu said.

The billionaire businessman further explained the causes of the food price increases and how the President’s policy helped to curb the trend.

“So, what has been happening and a lot of people probably don’t know this, is that Nigerians, a lot of companies in Nigeria usually buy a lot of paddy. That is rice paddy. Rice Paddy is what you use to process rice. So, the moment the harvest season starts, a lot of people will now buy a lot of these paddy and hold it for a period of three to four months. The moment the season finishes, then the price will double. So a lot of people don’t know that, but that has always been the problem.

“That does not really in any way affect the farmer, because the farmer is getting his four to N500,000 per ton of paddy. But the people that are buying and holding for three to four months, once the season finishes, it goes back up to N800,000. Hence why you are getting N110,000 per bag.
“So, what that intervention did at the time when we brought in was to create an issue for those hoarders. Because the moment we imported, we were selling, and those orders had a lot of paddy, they could not sell, and the price now came down, and it is still down.
So a lot of those holders are actually crying now and losing money.”

He said that the Rice Millers Association has come together to address the issue of hoarding by some companies, adding that the association will not allow any of its members to hoard rice.

“What we are doing as rice Millers is that we want to ensure that rice Millers are not buying and hoarding Paddy, although at the end of the day, it’s quite difficult to stop that. But what is happening is that once they know that there is rice availability imported, because BUA has imported enough rice to last us until the end of the year, for example.

“So, they know that if they try to hot rice and try to take it up, Bucha is there and will crash the price. So I am hopeful that at the end of the day, the price of rice going forward is not going to go any higher than what it is today.

“And I’m sure as soon as the season starts, the farmers will get the price they’ve always gotten, and the price of rice is going to stay the same, because people will be wary of hoarding, because if they hoard it is going to be a problem for them, because they might lose money. So that is on rice.

“And again, let me use this opportunity to thank His Excellency, for his foresight, for his vision, because I actually didn’t see that. I didn’t know that that was going to work, but we keyed in. We imported and we have supported, and now prices are down. So that is what we did, and we will continue to do to support the efforts of the government to ensure that food prices continue to come down. And I’m sure prices will come down.

“It is quite interesting that when prices were quite high, N100,000 everybody was shouting, now that prices are down or are coming down, it is like, nobody is coming out to say, look, food prices are coming down, but I’m happy to say that food prices are coming down, and they will continue to come down. That is what BUA foods is doing to support the efforts of the government in ensuring that food prices are down,” Rabiu said