$17b crude oil theft | Business Post Nigeria

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The House of Representatives has constituted a committee to probe the N17 billion allegedly stolen from the export of crude oil and liquefied natural gas. Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr Yusuf Lasun, who inaugurated the committee yesterday, charged the ad-hoc panel to do a thorough job. He charged them to confirm the exact amount of Nigeria crude oil stolen and sold to buyers in the international market. Chairman of the committee, Mr Abdulrazak Namdas, promised to carry out a professional job. “Preliminary reports alleged that over 57 million barrels of Nigeria crude oil were illegally exported and sold in the USA between January 2011 and December 2014. “The estimated revenue loss by the government of Nigeria is around $12.7 billion at an exchange rate of N196 to $1. This translates to over N2 trillion,” he said. Mr Namdas disclosed that about 20 multi-national companies have been invited to assist the committee in its investigations. He opined that, “If all revenues from crude oil exports lost due to the activities of those engaged in illegal export and sale of Nigeria crude oil are recovered from identified buyers, it will go a long way to support developmental goals of the government of Nigeria.”

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