The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has lamented that crude oil theft in Nigeria costs Nigeria about 400,000 barrels per day.
Gbajabiamila stressed that at a time when global oil prices are in free fall, this is a substantial loss that the country cannot afford and must no longer abide.
The Speaker made these observations Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the Public Hearing of the House Ad-hoc Committee on Crude Oil theft in Nigeria.
He said the National Assembly; House of Representatives and Senate have at various times conducted investigations into the matter yet, the situation persists and queried what the legislature was not getting right.
According to Gbajabiamila, these are the questions that must now animate the minds and seize the attention of the Ad-hoc Committee and expressed confidence in the abilities of the Committee to do justice to this assignment and assured you it of his support and the support of the entire House of Representatives.
“Crude oil theft and the attendant damage to oil and gas assets across the country destroys the environment, puts the lives of our citizens at risk and undercuts government revenue and compromises government’s ability to meet our nation’s developmental challenges.
“It is the worst kind of economic sabotage for which there is no viable defence or excuse. Those who engage in these acts of sabotage do so with the full awareness that their actions are inimical to the continued viability of the Nigerian state, yet they persist.
“Their persistence in this nefarious conduct must motivate the rest of us who bear the consequences of their actions to act in unison to identify those responsible and ensure that they are fully held accountable as allowed by law.
“However, beyond that, we have a responsibility to conduct a more holistic assessment to understand whatever underlying factors have caused this action to continue and the perpetrators to continue to benefit therefrom”, he added.
Earlier, Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee Investigating Oil Theft, Peter Akpatason said the investigative public hearing became necessary with a view to finding solutions into the myriads of challenges facing the oil and gas sector.
Akpatason expressed hope that the outcome of the investigative hearing will help to ensure that those negative impacts are mitigated, the communities are protected and the Nigerian economy earns better from the oil sector.
James Kwen, Abuja
