War against oil theft: Rivers, Bayelsa raise the ante

From Chris Eze, Port Harcourt

Recently, the Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas shocked the nation when he revealed that Nigeria loses an estimated N1.29 trillion annually to oil theft.

Available facts also show that the nation loses an estimated 437,000 barrels of crude oil per day currently, while in 2023, statistics show that Nigeria lost N2.3 trillion to crude oil theft

Between 2017 and 2021, it was estimated that Nigeria lost 208,639 million barrels of crude oil valued at $12.74 million, approximately N4.325 trillion.

For a country that is currently facing severe economic hardship, allowing the humungous amounts of money quoted above to be stolen by people who are mostly Nigerians is to say the least equal to treason.

Nigeria is one of the OPEC member nations, but it is only in Nigeria among the lot that the menace of oil theft is pervasive or even reported at all.

Globally, the processes of oil exploration and exploitation have been digitized such that in one click, one can monitor the oil production chain as to detect leakages both in production and sale.

But in Nigeria, we behave as if we are no longer part of the global community and things happening in it. If not why would the egg heads in the oil industry not be able to come up with a foolproof mechanism of checkmating the hydra headed monster of oil theft running the country down?

However, the question has always been who will bell the cat as even the egg heads in the oil industry are often accused of being the rat that chops the fish hidden on the rafter. Stories have often been told of the alleged collaboration between our security agencies and foreign nationals tapping crude oil in the international space on the high seas.

In the face of the biting economic hardship across the nation, both the federal and state governments are scratching their heads vigorously for other sources of revenue amidst the dwindling oil revenue due to oil theft, even as concerted efforts are being intensified to tame the oil theft syndrome.

In Rivers and Bayelsa States which account for over 60 percent of the nation’s total crude production, Governors Siminalayi Fubara and Senator Douye Diri are not leaving any stones unturned in their quest to fight the scourge of oil theft.

The two governors have initiated engagements with community leaders and authorities at the third tier of government with a view to enlisting their support and collaboration in the all important war against oil theft.

At one of such engagements with traditional rulers in the Rivers State, Governor Siminalayi Fubara enjoined the traditional rulers to gird their loins and join the fight against crude oil theft and pipeline vandalization.

The Governor maintained that it is the duty of everybody, especially traditional rulers, to join efforts together to ensure that there is stability and unfettered progress of Nigeria.

He also advised traditional rulers to take charge of their domains and ensure that they make life difficult for ill-guided youths involved in acts of economic sabotage in their various communities.

The Governor maintained that it should be the concern of everybody to support and see Nigeria progresses as a stable country while advancing economically; adding that this is possible only when there is high production of crude oil, as the mainstay of the national economy.

He said: “I want to see a different society from this hour. The Federal Government is doing everything to see that our crude oil production level increases. But every day, we are having issues of illegal bunkering and pipeline vandaliaztion and all the associated problems.

“All these people that are carrying out these evil acts, they’re not coming from the moon, they live in our communities, we know them. I am charging this council, as a first step, take charge of your communities.

“If there is any information that you need to share with us, share with us. In the overall, we need our country to progress. We need our country to be stable. We need our country to grow economically. It is through only one means: our oil production.”

The Governor insisted: “We are charging you, to please go back and take charge of your communities. I assure you of our support. If there is anything that we need to do, if it means government sending you some little support financially to create your own vigilante to help, we will do it.”

The meeting ended with assurances from the traditional rulers that they would up their game in their various domains to ensure that activities of oil thieves are stamped out.

In Bayelsa, Governor Douye Diri summoned the chairmen of the eight local government areas of the state to a crucial meeting in Government House, Yenagoa and tasked them to constitute task force in their areas to combat the menace of oil theft in communities across the state.

According to the Governor, the decision to set up the local government task force on oil theft was borne out of a meeting between governors of the oil producing states and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu in Abuja.

The Bayelsa Governor stated that the teams to be formed by the local government chairmen would collaborate with the Bayelsa State Community Safety Corps to check oil theft.

Senator Diri noted that the incidence of crude oil bunkering and theft have had multiple effects, including low oil production output thereby affecting revenue accruing to states as well as degradation of the ecosystem.

According to him, “arising from the meeting in Abuja, l have also invited you since you are at the local government level of governance in the fight against crude oil theft.

“The issue of oil theft and oil bunkering are of serious concern in our local government areas and since the federal government has involved states and local governments in combating the menace, all hands must be on deck to stamp it out.

“Federal government is working to shore up oil production and if we are able to stop oil theft, production will increase thereby increasing revenues for states and local governments”, the Governor maintained.