*I will unearth the cabal-Sen Ned Nwoko
By Andrew Oota
Senate has mandated it’s standing committees Committees on Petroleum Resources, (Upstream, downstream,) Gas, Host communities and Niger Delta to investigate oil theft in the Niger Delta region and report back in three weeks .
The upper Legislative chamber also asked the panels to investigate the actions of security forces, militia groups, local populace,all company employees, and any individuals or entities suspected to be using sophisticated methods to pilfer from oil facilities within the country.
This was on the heels of a motion on Tuesday by Senator Ned Nwoko and co-sponsored by Senators Ede Dafinone and J.Thomas, titled, “Urgent need to investigate incessant and nefarious acts of crude oil thefts in Niger- Delta region.
Nwoko, in his lead debate, said that Nigeria was largely dependent on crude oil for its economic growth and development.
He said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the oil sector contributed 6.33 per cent of the nation’s GDP, which translated to 45.6 billion dollars in 2022 .
Nwoko said the oil sector in Nigeria plays pivotal role in providing employment opportunities for millions of Nigerian citizens accounting for 70 per cent of its budget financing, while oil and gas made up of 90 per cent of export and 85 per cent of government revenue in the first quarter of 2022.
He said statistical data, which has been reported over the years, indicated that pipeline vandalism, oil bunkering, has brought Nigeria into a serious socio-economic crisis.
The senator said current collaborative efforts involving joint task force of the military,with contributions of various security entities, state and local governments, and International Oil Companies (IOCs) in the Niger Delta region has yielded positive results.
He said the efforts had led to an increase in oil production, reaching 1.51 million barrels per day in the first quarter 2023.
” This figure marks an improvement from the 1.49 million barrels per day recorded in the same quarter of 2022 and is notably higher than the production volume of 1.34 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2022.”
Nwoke said in spite of the efforts of military personnel and security agencies in combating oil theft in the Niger Delta region, he, however, alleged individuals within the institutions who engage in illicit activities.
“These individuals collaborate with unscrupulous figures within the oil industry to undermine the nation’s economy.
“Also observes that it has come to attention that oil theft in Nigeria thrives due to a troubling collaboration between security forces, militia groups, the local population, and certain employees within oll companies .
“These parties employ sophisticated methods to carry out theft from all facilities located within the country given Nigeria’s vast oil and gas reserves.”
He expressed of alleged accusations and counter-accusations of oil bunkering and various other crisis between the military and local militia groups.
“In 2022, it was reported that Nigeria suffered daily loss of approximately 437,000 barrels of crude oil, amounting to a value of 23 million dollars, due to criminal activities.
” Moreover, between March 2023, Nigeria incurred a substantial loss of 65.7 million barrels of crude oil, valued at 83 dollars per barrel, translating to a staggering revenue loss of N2.3 trillion as a result of oil theft.”
He expressed worry that the activities of oil thieves and their collaborators has significantly hampered crude oil production posing a substantial threat to the nation’s economy.
Contributing, Sen. Mpigi Barinada(PDP- Rivers) called for proper check on issues of oil thefts in Niger Delta, adding that there was challenge of collaboration among security agencies.
Sen.Osita Izunaso (APC- Imo) said oil bunkering was a major economic sabotage for Nigeria , saying that it was a multifaceted issues.
He said the solution required sustainable measures and not on ad-hoc basis.
Sen.Buhari Abdulfatah called for a review of the laws to provide for punitive measures for would be offenders.
Sen.Adams Oshiomole (APC-Edo) urged the Senate to support President Tinubu in the fight against oil thieves,saying that it was time to stop oil thefts in Nigeria.
He said it was shameful that so much was been stolen from oil, and urged the senate to invite the service chiefs to interface with senate on what the security agencies were doing to stop oil thefts.
President of Senate, Godswill Akpiabio said he believes strongly that the Armed Forces were in better position to secure the country.
He thanked the sponsor of the motion while urging the committee to do a holistic investigation in the interest of the nation.
Senate consequently urged the committee to present its report on the investigation in six weeks.
But while addressing the press ,Senator Nwoko maintained that ,”This is a very important motion because it affects the lives of many Nigerians.
“The economy of this country is depended on the oil sector and we are all aware of the crude oil theft and vandalism by thieves .
“We are also aware of the efforts of the military to deal with the issue.
“Yes the Vessels have always been destroyed and I don’t support the destruction of vessels because it damages and pollutes the environment even more and also destroys the evidence as well as the products .
“It is my hope that with today’s motion we can identify and expose the culprits, many of the bunkers are Nigerians and we find it difficult to identify and shame them.
“Asides destroying the vessels the thieves should be arrested and prosecuted and shamed, it’s shocking that the NNPC knows there pipelines and should help and be able to get the lines protected,along with my colleagues we are determined to get to the root of the matter . We can’t keep talking about a cabal, we must know this cabal ,identify them and shame them. I can investigate , trace and expose them I did it to the Paris Club and I will do it again”
