The Minority caucus in the House of Representatives has demanded an immediate, independent and open investigation into recent reports of massive crude oil theft in the country and the circumstances leading to the arrest of a Norwegian vessel believed to be carrying millions of litres of stolen crude from the country.
Minority Leader of the House, Rep. Ndudi Elumelu, said in a statement in Abuja yesterday that it was alarming that a foreign vessel found its way into the country, loaded millions of litres of crude oil and exited the country without being noticed.
Elumelu alleged that the vessel may have been assisted in carrying out the act by those he described as corrupt officials of the Nigerian government, while asking President Muhammadu Buhari to rise to the occasion and take urgent steps to halt the hemorrhaging of the national economy through crude oil theft in the interest of suffering Nigerians.
The statement said: “The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives is alarmed by the massive oil theft in the country which has become an organised racket under the corrupt, reckless and extremely decadent All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.
Read Also: FIRS to Reps: We collect revenue for government, not question expenditure
“The Minority Caucus is disturbed by reports of alleged complicity by certain corrupt government officials as evinced in the clandestine entrance and berthing of a 3-million-barrel capacity super tanker, MV. Heroic Idun in Nigerian waters to criminally load millions of barrels of stolen crude oil from our country.
“Such reported complicity is also evidenced in the failure of the Nigerian authorities to effectively intercept and arrest the criminal tanker and its crew, which successfully left the Nigerian waters only to be apprehended by the Equatorial Guinea Navy.
“This shocking development underscores the massive sleaze in our nation’s oil and gas sector under the APC administration, with consequential crippling effects on our overall national economy and social wellbeing.
“It is indeed disturbing that under the APC administration, according to official reports, oil thieves are having a field day stealing up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil every day. This amounts to a daily siphoning of about $40m (given the current average global oil price of around $100 a barrel) accrued revenue meant for the wellbeing of Nigerians.
”Our Caucus also urges President Muhammadu Buhari to, in the interest of suffering Nigerians, rise to the occasion and take urgent step to halt the hemorrhaging of our national economy through crude oil theft.”