As the discuss on Nigeria’s crude oil losses in the hands of oil thieves rage, the chairman of Heirs Oil and Gas, Tony Elumelu, has asserted that Nigeria lost over $4 billion to oil thieves between January and September of 2021.
Delivering a lecture of Course 30 of the National Defence College, on the theme: ‘Strategic Leadership: My Business Experience’, in Abuja, yesterday, Elumelu described oil theft in the Niger Delta as a national challenge.
The oil and gas business magnet said out of the 87,000 barrels Nigeria produces daily, thieves take 50,000 per day, stressing that the situation calls for national seminar or dialogue.
“In my view, it is one of the highest levels of threat to our country because it’s so much money in the hands of people who don’t pay tax, people we don’t regulate. The country is not safe. They do that to us; they do that to other operators also,” he said.
According to him, proceeds from illegal crude oil theft are the easy source of funds for arms and ammunition that pose threats to the collective existence of the Nigerian people.
“In my view it is one of the highest levels of threat to our country because it’s so much money in the hands of people who don’t pay tax, people we don’t regulate, the country is not safe.
He pointed out that Nigeria in the last three quarters of last year, January to September lost over $4 billion to thieves, and they use the money realized from the oil heist to buy more lethal ammunition.
He explained that the activities of oil thieves “require strategic leadership to deal with issues like this within the country but the lesson there is resilience in leadership.”
Elumelu warned that Nigeria could “continue like this; our country will wake up to realities someday. We look forward to men and women in this room who will help remove this national disgrace and problems that we face.”
By Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja
Be the first to know when we publish an update
