As the Presidential delegation to Niger Delta continues its tour of oil and gas facilities in Rivers State,the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu,has revealed that Nigeria loses 400,000 barrels of crude oil which amounts to four million dollars($4million )daily to Oil thieves inspite of efforts to stop the trend.
Ribadu said this when he led the delegation to inspect facilities at Owaza in Abia and Odogwa in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers on Saturday.
The NSA said that Nigeria had the capacity to produce 2 million barrels of crude oil per day but this is not the case as the country produces less due to activities of oil thieves and pipeline vandals.
This, he said
had impacted negatively on the nation’s economy and were partly responsible for the rising cost of living in the country.
“It’s unfortunate that few individuals would steal our common resources, and in the process cause unbelievable loss to both the nation, communities and the people.
“Nigeria has the capacity to produce 2 million barrels of crude daily, but we are currently producing less than 1.6 million barrels due to theft and vandalism of pipelines.
“So, we are talking about 400,000 barrels of crude oil going to waste with few criminals and economic saboteurs not even getting much out of it,” he said.
Ribadu lamented the current state of the Naira linking it to low earnings as a result of oil thieves saying it has become imperative for the government to secure its facilities.
“The value of 400,000 barrels of oil today is about 4 million dollars, and every day, we lose this amount because of this irresponsible behaviour.
“If you multiply 4 million dollars by 365 days (one year), you will see that it is a lot of money running into billions of dollars.
“Currently, the country is in desperate need of money as the Naira is continuously losing its value because we earn less money.
“If we earn more money, it will not only help strengthen our currency but reflect in everything, including cost of living in the country,”
He said that President Bola Tinubu was concerned about the development which is why he has taken urgent steps to stop it.
The NSA said that bringing an end to Oil theft required a joint effort .
“We are working hard with the security forces and those employed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to secure our facilities and end this madness called oil theft,”
Other members of the presidential delegation were the Minister of Defence, Baduru Abubakar, the Minister of state for Defence, Bello Matawalle and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa.
Also , the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar; Minister of State (Oil), Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri.and the Minister of State (Gas), Petroleum Resources, Ekperipe Ekpo, as well as senior management officials of the NNPCL were part of the delegation.
