House summons Ministers over theft of 48 Million Barrels of Crude

The House of Representatives has summoned the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami over an allegedly undeclared sum of $2.4 billion in crude oil sales.

The ad hoc committee investigating alleged theft of Nigeria’s 48 million barrels of crude oil in China, issued the summons at its formal opening on Tuesday.

Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, especially crude oil remains its main economic stay accounting for 95% of foreign exchange earnings.

In 2022, government pegged daily crude oil production at 1.88 million barrels per day but that projection remained only on papers as the target was never met.

Instead, production dropped below 1 million barrels with an attendant revenue loss to the country.

Statistics show that corruption remains a major obstacle to the nation’s development and crude oil theft leads the pack.

It is reported that about $700 million worth of crude oil is stolen every month in Nigeria.

Available data also indicates that Nigeria may lose $23 billion this year to crude oil theft.

This investigative hearing is in response to a whistle blowers’ account of an alleged theft of 48 million barrels of crude oil worth over $2.4 billion.

Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila laments the endemic corruption in the system.

He promises to protect the Whistle Blowers with an assurance the bill will be passed in good time.

The committee takes exception to the absence of the Ministers of Finance and Justice as well as other key government figures it believes are crucial to its assignment

The Code of Conduct Bureau also gives an insight to the scale of corruption that has engulfed Nigeria’s oil and gas

The Ad hoc committee is also investigating the quantum of crude oil export in Nigeria between 2014 and 2022 as well as the whistle blowers revelations and recoveries, to which the government has confirmed.

Other invited heads of agencies include the Executive Secretary of NEITI, the Accountant General of the Federation, Nigerian Regulatory Upstream Commission and a number of oil companies.

FG lacks political will to remove subsidy – Economist

Removal of fuel subsidies is something the Federal Government should have done over 3 years ago.

Iniobong Usen, head of research advisory at BudgIT made this disclosure while speaking on the benefits of the removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria.

Mr Usen said the current fuel subsidy regime in the country is no longer sustainable with the country currently borrowing to pay fuel subsidies.

He added that Nigeria does not currently generate enough revenue and continuing to pay for subsidies will amount to a waste of scarce resources.

He disclosed that the Federal having nothing as an impediment to stop it should have implemented the removal of fuel subsidies across the Country.

He described the failure to remove the subsidies by the current government as an indication of a lack of political will to do what is right for the future of the country.

According to him the current fuel subsidy regime is nothing but a scam which has been alluded to by the government itself with corruption playing a major part in making it unsustainable with almost half of the imported product in most cases finding its way across the border to neighbouring countries.

He disclosed that the current situation where Nigeria continues to pay overhead such as salaries, allowances, cost of promotion to workers and even buying cars for the nations’ refineries is unsustainable.

He said he was involved in a survey a month ago to find out the average price of Premium Moto Spirit in Nigeria which came in at 350 Naira across the Country inspite of subsidy running into billions of naira everyday.

He disclosed that this is an indication that the fuel subsidy regime has failed and is nothing but scam which has to end for the nation to continue to develop.

Going Further, Mr Usen said the best option having seen that the subsidy regime does not work is for the federal government to stop it before it creates chaos in the system.

On what should be done in the event of subsidy removal, He disclosed that just as it was with the Naira Redesign policy recently there will be an initial opposition to it by Nigerians but will be accepted down the line.

He said the current set of initiative aimed at empowering Nigerians and aiding poverty reduction are adequate enough but need to be made more transparent for the beneficiaries to be known and its impact properly measured.