Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate for the Labour Party has called on the Federal Government to name and shame those involved in the theft of Nigeria’s crude oil for the sake of national Interest.
The former Anambra State Governor disclosed this in a social media statement on Wednesday.
Crude Oil theft has caused the Nigerian Government the inability to raise major foreign exchange earnings despite high crude prices in 2022.
What Obi is saying
Speaking on the matter, Obi said, “I am struck and intrigued by the news report linking “highly placed” Nigerians to oil theft. Same has been the case with financing insurgency and Boko Haram. When will FGN summon the political will to publicly name such persons?”
“In the National Interest, there should be no sacred cows,” Obi added.
I am struck and intrigued by the news report linking "highly placed" Nigerians to oil theft. Same has been the case with financing insurgency and Boko Haram. When will FGN summon the political will to publicly name such persons?
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) August 31, 2022
What you should know
- Activities of saboteurs and crude oil thieves have become the bane of the oil industry in Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, making it impossible for the country to meet up with its Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s quota in recent years.
- Nigeria has been experiencing some of the worst crude oil theft in its history with millions of dollars lost daily. There have been several allegations of complicity levelled against security agencies following the increasing incidents of crude oil theft.
- Multiple reports have emerged of government agencies allegedly aiding the theft of crude oil in Nigeria, with Nairametrics reporting last month that the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd. (NLNG) denied reports that it enabled the illegal exportation of crude oil and natural gas in Nigeria.
- NLNG said it is simply not true that it enabled the illegal exportation of crude oil and natural gas in Nigeria. It added that claims that the claim that it was working with an international cartel to illegally export products was untrue and an attempt to cast the company and its leadership in bad light.
- This comes after a report by Vanguard claimed that security sources revealed the real looting of Nigeria’s crude oil and its by-products is neither through illegal bunkering, refining nor pipeline vandalism, but via highly placed government officials-enabled undocumented shipments of large scale hydro-carbon products worth over $1.2 billion to Europe and the Americas.
- The Federal Government had revealed that Nigeria lost about $1 billion in revenue to pipeline vandals and oil thieves in the first quarter of 2022.
- Oil theft which can also be referred to as illegal bunkering, and not a new menace in the oil and gas industry, has become quite brazen and risen to an alarming level, with some oil companies disclosing that they lose between 80% and 95% of their crude oil production to the activities of these oil thieves.
- A former Managing Director/Chief Executive of the biggest Indigenous oil exploration and production company, Seplat Energy Plc, Austin Avuru, had earlier this year warned that Nigeria’s oil production has reached an emergency critical status, stating that some oil production wells don’t get to see 80% of production making it to the terminals due to oil theft.
What Peter Obi said is true if really we want to build our country we most respect our constitution by whistle blower ,,, announce those occupied the public office if really the make mistake that should make others people scared ,,and careful to misused He/her office,,,