Politics
Reps To Summons Service Chiefs Over Oil Theft
The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft has revealed that it would summoned the service chiefs over allegd oil theft in the country.
The committee further revealed that other stakeholders in the oil and gas sector would also be summoned to the house for interrogation concerning the growing rate of oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
The service chiefs to summoned are the Chief of Naval Staff, Inspector General of Police, the Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The chairman of the Ad hoc committee on Crude Oil Theft, Hon. Peter Akpatason made the revelation over the weekend.
The committee alleged that crude oil theft was with the assistance of some military officers serving or retired.
Akapatason recalled that the Federal Government under the leadership of former president Olusegun Obasanjo, had set up a committee to look into oil theft in 2001, which reported that oil theft by a group of highly placed persons posed a threat to the oil sector.
He however lamented the rate of oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
He said “Oil theft is a very serious problem that is as old as the oil industry itself. Oil theft has assumed a very alarming rate in recent times.
“As far as back as 2001, the federal set up a committee which noted a major threat to Nigeria oil industry arises from the activities of a cartel or mafia which comprises highly and powerful placed individuals running a network of agents to steal crude oil and finished petroleum products from pipelines in Nigeria and could be possible enjoying the patronage of some retired or top serving military or security personnel, political allies of government who benefit from the illicit oil business and have persistently frustrated efforts by the international community to assist Nigeria in fighting the menace.
“This a very serious allegation by the committee set up by former president, Olusegun Obasanjo and we are going to take up this investigation from that perspective to look at who are actually responsible and how we can stop this criminality and ensure that revenue derivable from the oil and gas sector is exactly what we ought be getting what in this country, nothing short of that.”
It could be recalled that on September 26, the House through a motion raised the alarm, that Nigeria was losing about N5 trillion annually from oil theft and about 22 million barrels of crude oil, counting for about N1.3 trillion loss of crude were stolen in the Niger Delta in 2019 alone
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