Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo said oil theft and losses pose a serious threat to the Nigerian economy and negatively affect the nation’s revenue.
According to the vice president, if left unchecked, this could fuel a fiscal crisis that cripples the government and leaves the nation vulnerable.
Osinbajo spoke at the Stakeholder Conference of the Special Investigation Commission on Oil Theft and Losses in Nigeria on Tuesday at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja.
“Oil theft and losses pose a threat to our economy and national security. It poses a serious threat to our oil economy and negatively affects the nation’s returns and the business prospects of investors in the oil and gas sector.” Osinbajo said.
He added, “If left unchecked, it could fuel a public financial crisis that could cripple the government and make our nation weak,” saying that oil contributes about 80% of the government’s foreign exchange and contributes six percent of the country’s gross domestic product, gross domestic product. .
He said the widespread theft of crude oil had undermined the government’s efforts to maximize these resources.
So, the total value of oil lost between 2019 and 2020 is higher than Nigerian foreign exchange reserves at any given time and almost ten times Nigerian oil savings in account of excess crude oil. So it is no exaggeration to say that our oil and gas sector faces the most serious threat in more than half a century…” said the Vice President.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Special Investigation Commission on Oil Theft/Cases in Nigeria, Maj. Gen. Barry Ndiomu, rtd, said the committee said there was no gain from the massive impact of the threat of oil theft on crude oil production in the country as Nigerian oil production hit a 13-year low of 800,000 barrels/day.
“The committee visited several sites across the Niger Delta such as the notorious Yokiri Flow terminal area in Burutu Delta state where illegal contact was discovered on the export line feeding TETL and saw other contact points used for illegal refining,” he said.
He said there were engagements with the Union Attorney General, the Minister of Justice and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), among others. Which benefited from the committee’s information about the challenges faced by the concerned organizations in securing oil assets in the country and combating oil theft.
“These efforts provided us with new knowledge and sparked honest discussions among the panelists that led to some clear conclusions. We suspected that the reported theft and loss of crude oil stemmed from issues of collusion and negligence.
“The emerging picture indicates an evolving web of collusion between elements of host communities, security agencies, industry players – both government and private institutions – as well as international collaborators.”
Oil theft and losses will fuel crisis in Nigeria if not reined in – Osinbajo, Ndiomo
