Nigeria lost 22 million barrels of crude oil worth N1.3 trillion to thieves in the Niger Delta Region in 2019, House of Representatives stated.
The House also noted that the country losses about N5 trillion yearly from oil theft, saying it was an amount the Federal Government needed to finance the budget.
Moving the motion entitled “Oil Theft in Nigeria,” Chukwuma Umeoji, the sponsor said, “The House notes that Nigeria losses about N5 trillion yearly from oil theft, an amount which the government desperately needs to finance the budget.
“The oil theft is not only an economic loss but also causes environmental damage due to breaches on oil pipelines and the incidents are on the upsurge.”
Adopting the motion, the House resolved to setup an Ad-hoc Committee to investigate the issues.
The committee which will be chaired by the Deputy Leader of the House, Mr Peter Akpason is saddled with the responsibility of determining the volume of oil extracted in the country on a daily basis; the quantity sold at the internal markets and the quantity consumed locally; ascertain the quantity of oil that is stolen on a daily basis and the people responsible for the theft; determine the quantity of crude oil sold externally and the quantity served to the nation’s refineries and the damage caused to the environment as a result of oil theft.
It was given eight weeks to conclude its assignment and report back to the House for further legislative action.
