The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, inaugurated a special committee on oil theft in a bid to address one of the threats to the nation’s economy.
At the ceremony in Abuja, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, said the country was losing an estimated 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day to theft, vandalism and other criminal activities.
The development, according to the lawmakers, has caused the nation a great deal in the form of revenue loss, environmental disasters, threats to regional peace and security, the proliferation of arms as well as poor investment climate.
According to the Speaker, the nation is incurring losses of oil revenues estimated at N1.29tn annually due to industrial-scale theft.
He explained that the committee’s primary objective was to determine the proximate and remote causes of oil theft and recommend remedial measures to the parliament.
“We set up this special committee to underscore our unwavering commitment to protecting the nation’s resources for the good of all our citizens and to punish the perpetrators of these dreadful crimes.
“I charge you, therefore, to investigate all dimensions of oil theft, focusing on the actions of all actors, including criminal gangs, militia groups, the local populace, company employees and security agencies.
“I urge the members of this committee to approach your mandate with diligence, objectivity, a sense of urgency, and patriotism.
“The findings and recommendations from your work will also serve as a foundation for sustainable solutions rather than ad hoc measures.
“I also expect your efforts to contribute significantly to enhancing the integrity of our oil sector and promoting sustainable development.
“I call upon all stakeholders, including government agencies, industry players, security agencies, civil society organisations, and the general public, to extend their full cooperation to this special committee for it to deliver on its mandate,” he said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, Ado Doguwa (APC-Kano State), said the 2021 report of the National Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative indicated that the oil and gas sector accounted for 72.26 per cent of Nigeria’s total exports and government foreign exchange.
He said the sector accounted for 40.55 per cent of government revenue and provided 19,171 jobs.
Mr Doguwa said in spite of the seemingly robust contribution of the oil and gas sector to the national economy, the country had yet to derive maximum benefits from its abundant hydrocarbon resources.
“Oil theft is a large-scale illegal business estimated to be worth $133bn per year globally. This makes it the world’s biggest theft of a natural resource and is also considered to be the number one most smuggled natural resource globally,” he said.
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