Senator Ned Nwoko has stated that Nigeria’s losses from crude oil theft are greater than those suffered by some other OPEC member countries.
As Chairman of the Senate Ad hoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft, Senator Nwoko spoke about the severity of the issue during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
He noted that the scale of oil theft in Nigeria is enormous, causing serious damage not only to the economy but also to the environment.
According to Nwoko, Nigeria loses more than 200,000 barrels of crude oil daily due to illegal activities such as oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism. This amount is greater than the daily crude oil production of some OPEC member countries. He said these losses are costing Nigeria billions of dollars each year.
He explained that crude oil theft harms Nigeria in many ways. It damages the environment, weakens the Nigerian Naira, and cuts off important funds needed to improve infrastructure, healthcare, education, and social programs. He also mentioned that the illegal trade supports corruption and criminal networks.
The senator added that the Senate’s ad hoc committee recently held a two-day public hearing to investigate the causes and effects of oil theft. The hearing aimed to review the effectiveness of current laws, surveillance, and security measures against these crimes. It also involved discussions with various stakeholders, including security agencies, oil companies, host communities, and experts, to find lasting solutions.
“It was also to engage stakeholders, security agencies, host communities, oil companies, regulators, and experts to proffer actionable solutions; and strengthen legal frameworks to ensure stricter penalties and more efficient prosecution of offenders,” Mr. Nwoko said.
The committee has started working with forensic experts to track stolen crude oil from production points to sales and financial transactions. This effort is beginning to produce useful results, and the committee plans to release its findings soon.
Mr. Nwoko stressed that Nigeria’s future depends on how the nation handles this problem. He said, “The nation cannot continue to haemorrhage resources while the people suffer. The future of Nigeria’s economy and the well-being of generations unborn depend on the actions taken today.”
He also noted that the National Assembly is committed to passing stronger laws to support regulatory agencies like the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), and others.
‘’The Senate and the National Assembly are committed to passing laws that will strengthen regulatory agencies; NUPRC, NEITI, NSA among others, as well as enhance community engagement and alternative livelihoods for Niger Delta youth,” he added.
‘’We are also committed to improving inter-agency collaboration between the military, police, NSCDC, and private security firms and enforcing transparency in crude oil lifting and metering processes.’’
He disclosed that the ad-hoc committee had commenced work in earnest since its inception by engaging forensic experts to trace and provide information on crude oil theft from the point of lifting to sales and bank transactions.
‘’This is truly yielding great results, and the ad-hoc committee will not hesitate to publish its findings in due time.
‘’Together, we can reclaim Nigeria’s stolen wealth, secure our energy infrastructure, and restore confidence in the petroleum sector,’’ he added.
(NAN)
