Malam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, claimed on Saturday that despite efforts to stop the problem, Nigeria continues to lose 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily to local and foreign thieves.
When he led a presidential delegation to tour the oil and gas installations in Owaza, Abia, and Odogwa, Etche Local Government Area, Rivers State, Ribadu revealed this.
He claimed that pipeline vandals and oil thieves’ actions had a detrimental effect on the economy of the country and were partially to blame for the country’s rising cost of living.
“It is unfortunate that few individuals would steal our common resources, and in the process cause unbelievable loss to both the nation, communities and the people,” Ribadu said.
“Nigeria has the capacity to produce two million barrels of crude daily, but we are currently producing less than 1.6 million barrels due to theft and vandalism of pipelines.
“So, we’re talking about 400,000 barrels of crude oil going to waste with few criminals and economic saboteurs not even getting much out of it,” he added.
The President Bola Tinubu government, according to Ribadu, was likewise concerned about the situation and was already taking appropriate action to solve it.
In order to combat oil theft and put a stop to years of attacks on the country’s oil and gas infrastructures, the head of the NSA called for a united front.