Amid the revenue shortfall and the economic recession in the country, the House of Representatives, yesterday, set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the $17 billion stolen from undeclared crude oil and liquefied natural gas export.
Contained in a motion moved by Hon. E. J. Agbonayinma, the House noted that following the colossal figures of crude oil theft, the past administration in 2013 held a meeting with all the major oil companies to proffer solution to the embarrassing challenge of crude oil theft.
Agbonayinma further noted that a firm, Molecular Power System (Nigeria) Limited engaged to provide technical data to verify possibilities of non-declaration to the federal government by multinational companies revealed that an undeclared crude oil shortfall of 57,8300,00 of Nigeria crude oil translating to well over $12 billion to the US; $3 billion to China and $839,522,600 to Norway was discovered.
The lawmaker expressed dismay that the “physicalisation policy of the federal government which warrants loading of crude oil from Nigeria to be monitored by the DPR, the Navy, the Customs, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA has been crippled over the years.
“These agencies according to him, have majorly lost the capacity to go to offshore locations to witness and monitor loading, as well as the machines that monitor loading into vessels were bought and operated by international companies without monitoring.”
