TThe panel is chaired by the Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, retired Maj Gen Barry Ndiomu, Mr. David Attah as Secretary, and other seasoned administrators and retired top military and police officers as members.
An 11-man Special Investigative Panel has been inaugurated by the Nigerian government through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Maj Gen Babagana Monguno (Retd.) to investigate the oil theft and losses especially in the Niger Delta region.
TThe panel is chaired by the Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, retired Maj Gen Barry Ndiomu, Mr. David Attah as Secretary, and other seasoned administrators and retired top military and police officers as members.
According to Monguno, Nigeria is currently facing monumental loss of revenue that ought to have accrued from the sale of crude oil, being the main source of its foreign exchange earnings.
He said the escalation of acts of vandalism and theft of crude oil had led to significant decline in production, with associated impact on revenue, noting that the enormous losses were caused mainly by oil theft, and orchestrated by unscrupulous elements.
The NSA boss explained that Nigeria had consistently failed to meet its daily production quota of about two million barrels per day, as provided by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Monguno noted that the country’s current crude production struggled to meet even one million barrels per day, adding that recent interventions by the security agencies had revealed massive illicit platforms of stealing ranging from marine evacuations via vessels, and load-outs from illegal operations platforms.
He added that the extent of the oil and revenue losses threatened the economy, constraining the administration to revert to less popular monetary and fis¬cal policies to address revenue side constraints with dire im¬plications.
“Government has been briefed on the dwindling economic fortunes including, inability to replenish foreign reserves and reduction in revenue thereby, affecting accruals into the Federation Account.
“With the scale of the theft and losses and the alleged complicity of regulatory agencies/ officials and security personnel as well as the involvement of in¬ternational collaborators, the enterprise is deeply entrenched and would be extremely difficult to exterminate without very stern and decisive action by government.
“The menace of oil theft/ losses is completely unacceptable, considering its attendant impact on the economy, national development and security.
“It is an affront on government and its institutions, which must be tackled without further delay. It is in this connection that government worried by the ugly trend, among other things, directed the setting up of a Spe¬cial Investigative Panel on Oil Theft/Losses in Nigeria to investigate all aspects of crude oil theft, identify the culprits and submit its report for necessary action,” he said.