Nigeria Lost About N16tr To Oil Theft Between 2009-2020

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr Tajudeen Abbas says the country lost about N16tr to crude oil theft between 2009 and 2020.

The Speaker who spoke while inaugurating the adhoc committee to investigate crude oil theft and loss of revenue said the menace of crude oil theft has drastically hampered the growth of the country’s oil production, with Nigeria losing between 5 to 30 percent of daily crude oil production.

He however expressed shock that critical agencies in the oil and gas sector refused to honour the committee’s invite.

Dr. Abbas who was represented by the Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Upstream, Al Hassan Ado Doguwa, said that the agencies are not doing the nation any good by refusing to appear before the parliament to answer questions on the critical aspect of the economy.

The Speaker said if decisive action was not taken to address the issue, the country may be thrown into a deeper financial crisis due to dwindling revenue from the oil and gas sector.

Dr. Abbas said the House is aware of several efforts by past administrations to address the menace of crude oil theft with a number of task forces, special committees, and investigative panels set up in the past, each with a wide range of findings and recommendations.

In his remark, the Chairman of the Committee, Alhassan Usman Rumrum, said the volume of losses occasioned by oil theft in the country and its associated impact on the economy is completely unacceptable and cannot be tolerated by any government that sincerely loves its citizens.

Also speaking, a representative of the Nigeria Police Force, Mr Alabi Abiodun, said the police have put in place a task force to assist other security agencies in arresting those attacking oil facilities.

In addressing the menace, Abiodun said perpetrators of the act should be handed over to the Nigerian police for prosecution.

Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji