President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, sought the support of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) to stop the exportation of stolen crude oil from Nigeria.
According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) about $2.23 billion (N191 billion) revenue that should have accrued to the federal government from oil proceeds was lost to the activities of crude oil thieves in the first quarter of 2013 with an estimated $6 billion lost annually.
He said, “The efforts of EITI in criminalising ‘blood diamonds’ from African mines have helped in curtailing that illegal business. I urge you to also support Nigeria as we confront the forces stealing Nigerian crude oil.
“The theft of crude oil from Nigeria involves the collusion of foreigners and the stolen crude is refined abroad. EITI can use its mechanisms to help us track down the thieves and those who receive the stolen crude oil.”
Jonathan, who observed that Africa was losing a lot through leakages in the mining and extractive industry, also urged Short and her colleagues at EITI to help in ending the exploitation of Africans and African nations by multinational companies engaged in the extraction of the continent’s immense natural resources.
The president added that in line with the federal government’s resolve to giving NEITI all necessary support and freedom to discharge its duties, he will inaugurate an expanded inter-ministerial committee next week to ensure greater synergy in NEITI’s investigations and facilitate and the implementation of its recommendations for greater probity in Nigeria’s oil industry.
Commending EITI’s efforts to discourage exploitation and corruption in extractive industries across the world, Jonathan assured Short and her team that Nigeria would continue to strive for even greater openness and transparency in its oil and mining sectors.
Ms. Short briefed President Jonathan on EITI’s ongoing efforts to ensure that oil and other mineral resources of countries are well managed and utilised for the benefit of their citizens.
Industry captains who spoke at the 2013 Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) conference and exhibition in Abuja, stressed that the issue of crude theft has grown to become an organised industrial scale business resulting in the loss of over $6 billion annually and would therefore, require more than one approach to fight.
Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, while speaking at the conference said the federal government has begun soliciting the support of the global community to help address the challenge and championing the crude oil finger print aimed at detecting stolen crude.-Leadership
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