- Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila
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Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, has lamented that Nigeria may lose yet another $23bn from the way things are unfolding in the oil and gas sector.
Lamenting Nigeria’s dwindling revenue from the oil sector, yesterday, the speaker expressed dismay that the country loses $700 million monthly to crude oil theft, expressing doubt over the nation’s ability to meet its 2023 proposed daily oil production target of 1.69 million barrels.
According to him, available data suggests that “we may lose up to $23 billion to crude oil theft this year,” adding that between January and July last year, Nigeria lost $10 billion to the oil theft.
The Speaker who spoke while declaring open the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee Hearing on the illegal sale of stolen 48 million barrels of Nigeria’s crude oil in China, further lamented that Nigeria was said to have lost $2.4 billion revenue to that transaction.
Gbajabiamila, who was represented by Isiaka Ayokunle, a lawmaker, noted that the Oil and Gas sector remained the mainstay of Nigerian economy, adding that the sector accounts for 95 percent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings and 80 percent of its annual budgeted revenue.
Recall that Nigeria’s daily crude oil production was put at 1.88 million barrels last year, but the figure was never met, with production dropping below 1million barrels , even as this year’s projection stands at 1.69 million barrels.
According to the speaker, Nigeria’s revenue to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio is below five percent, which places the country among the five lowest in the world.
He noted that in the light of dwindling revenue accruing to Nigeria from crude oil sales, it was quite alarming to learn about whistleblower allegation that over $2.4 billion was lost from the sale of the stolen 48 million barrels.
Though Gbajabiamila stressed that while these are unverified allegations, the onus was on the House to ascertain their veracity or otherwise, asking all concerned to come up with most reliable pieces of information.
The Speaker regretted that corruption had continued to be the bane of Nigeria’s development, pointing out that it ranks 150 out of 180 countries in the most recent Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)./SHARE THIS
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