The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has announced a full-scale investigation into the latest fuel diversion scandal that has rocked the downstream petroleum sector, following the interception of 10 trucks loaded with over 540,000 litres of diesel by operatives of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the National Security Secretariat. The operation, valued at approximately GHC2.3 million in evaded taxes, has once again exposed systemic weaknesses in Ghana’s petroleum distribution chain and triggered fresh questions about regulatory oversight.
In response to the revelations, the Chief Executive Officer of the NPA, Mr. Edudzi Kudzo Tamakloe, said the Authority was taking the allegations “very seriously”, and had initiated an internal probe.
“The Authority takes these claims very seriously, and we will investigate this. Once wrongdoings are established against the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) involved, the appropriate sanctions will be applied strictly against them, including deactivation from the NPA ERDMS system and suspension of licenses for specific periods. The sanctions will be swift,” Mr. Tamakloe assured.
The Bust
The latest operation by the GRA and National Security was the result of weeks of intelligence-gathering. Investigators tracked 10 Bulk Road Vehicles (BRVs) that had disengaged their tracking devices shortly after loading diesel at a depot.
Instead of delivering the product to its designated northern destinations, the trucks rerouted the fuel to Accra and its surrounding areas under the cover of darkness.
It followed weeks of warnings from the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), which had sounded the alarm over abnormal fuel consumption patterns in the northern regions.
Data released by the Chamber showed that the Upper East and Upper West regions had reportedly consumed more fuel in the past six months than all other regions combined — a statistical anomaly that industry experts described as “impossible under normal circumstances.”
The Chamber argued that such figures could only result from massive diversions and data manipulation within the petroleum supply chain, potentially aided by regulatory insiders.
In a press conference last week, the Chamber of OMCs issued a two-week ultimatum to the NPA, urging its Chief Executive to launch a swift and transparent investigation.
They stressed that with all BRVs fitted with GPS trackers under the NPA’s Electronic Road and Depot Monitoring System (ERDMS), the Authority could easily trace the movements of the trucks involved.
Pattern of weak enforcement
Fuel diversion is not a new phenomenon in the petroleum sector. Under former NPA boss Alhassan Tampuli, the Authority introduced a monitoring unit of young field officers tasked with tracking petroleum movements from depots to retail destinations. That initiative significantly reduced fuel diversions.
However, its discontinuation in recent years has drawn criticism from industry stakeholders, who argue that the absence of on-ground monitoring created room for regulatory abuse and large-scale fraud.
Several insiders within the petroleum sector claim that some OMCs and transporters have taken advantage of these lapses, often in collaboration with corrupt officials, to divert fuel for illegal resale in Accra and other major urban centres.
The revelation that it took the GRA and National Security, rather than the NPA, to uncover the latest diversion has raised serious questions about the Authority’s efficiency.
Stakeholders are now demanding answers from Mr. Tamakloe and his leadership team on how such a massive diversion could occur under their watch, despite the existence of sophisticated tracking and digital monitoring systems.
Critics argue that the NPA must not only name and sanction the companies involved but also address the structural and technological weaknesses that continue to undermine its regulatory authority.
They insist that the names of the OMCs, transporters and officials implicated must be made public and that the state must recover all evaded taxes while strengthening mechanisms to prevent future occurrences.
