The House of Representatives on Thursday resolved to probe N5 trillion worth of crude oil theft allegedly lost on a yearly basis.
This followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji to this effect at the plenary presided by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ahmed Wase.
Consequently, the House set up a 13-member Ad hoc committee chaired by Deputy Majority Leader, Hon. Peter Akpatason, with the view to determine the volume of crude oil extracted in the country on a daily basis.
The Ad-hoc Committee was also mandated to determine the daily quantity of crude oil sale at the international market and daily quantity consumed locally.
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In the same vein, the House mandated the Ad-Committee to determine and ascertain the quantity of oil being stolen on a daily basis and the people responsible for the theft and report back within eight weeks for further legislative action.
According to him, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), lost 22 million barrels of oil to theft in the first half of the year 2019 year.
The stolen oil amounts represent over 120,000 barrels per day or about six per cent of 2mbpd production.
The House also urged the committee to thoroughly investigate the level of possible environmental damage occasioned by the alleged theft.
In his lead debate, Hon. Emoji, who called for the House intervention observed that “government desperately needs to finance the budget.”
According to him, “about 22 million barrels of crude oil, accounting for about N1.3 trillion worth of crude oil was stolen in the Niger Delta in 2019 alone.
The lawmaker noted that apart from the economic losses to the country, occasioned by the theft, there was also environmental damage due to breaches on oil pipelines, and the incidences are on the rise.
“It is a problem very dangerous to the economy of the country,” he stressed.
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