Senate ad-hoc committee wey dey investigate crude oil theft for Niger Delta don discover say about N300 billion crude oil proceeds never show for books, and e don trigger reactions from Nigerians.
The interim report show say poor oversight, gaps for measurement systems, weak regulatory control plus bad coordination among government agencies dey make thieves dey steal crude oil freely. Forensic review find mismatches and unaccounted funds reach $22 billion, while NNPCL report no match Central Bank records for 2016 and 2017, create shortfall of $81 billion. The report also project say over $200 billion from global crude sales dey missing.
Committee blame poor metering instruments, suspension of Weights and Measures Department under PIA 2021, weak interagency collaboration and non-implementation of Host Communities Development Trust Fund (HCDTF) for persistent oil theft and sabotage.
Dem recommend make government:
Mandate NUPRC enforce international measurement standards
Provide modern surveillance, drones and monitoring equipment
Set up Maritime Trust Fund
Create special court to prosecute oil thieves
Implement HCDTF immediately
Committee also raise concern over abandoned wells wey dey leak oil and gas, and recommend handover to modular refineries to increase local crude and reduce vandalism.
Production don show slight improvement, up 9.5% in 2023, from 490.95 million barrels in 2022 to 537.57 million barrels. Committee urge urgent local and global tracking of stolen crude funds.
Senate commend committee but talk say na executive job to recover stolen funds. Senate direct committee make e complete investigation and name the thieves for further action.
Public reactions na mix of anger, disappointment, and resignation. Oil analyst Idowu Christopher say government sabi those wey dey steal crude oil but dey refuse to act. Legal practitioner Chikia Umeayo add say such corruption don become normal for Nigeria, so nothing go change.
