A Niger Delta group, the Movement for the Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta, MSDND, has thrown its weight behind the position put forward by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the volume of crude oil allegedly stolen from the Niger Delta region.
Obasanjo had attributed the poor state of Nigeria’s economy to the nation’s intentional poor record keeping on the production of crude oil.
He also noted that 80 per cent of crude oil produced in the country is stolen, thereby preventing the nation from attaining its OPEC quota.
The MSDND, through its Publicity Secretary, Kelvin Orughoe, pointed out that Obasanjo’s position was a clear statement based on intelligence and in-depth knowledge of the failed battles against crude oil theft in the country.
He added, “It is time for President Bola Tinubu to borrow the cue and take the bull by the horn.
“The people stealing our crude oil are not along the creeks and waterways of the Niger Delta region. The crude oil theft is being coordinated and carried out by cartels collaborating with both state and non-state actors.”
Orughoe said that investigations by the group revealed that senior government officials in the petroleum sector know what is going on and have lots of questions to answer.
“If President Tinubu is serious about combating crude oil theft and not just tough talk made for media propaganda, then he should immediately request to meet with these ex-militant leaders because they have the masterplan in their possession on how to resolve the menace of crude oil theft across the Niger Delta region within thirty (30) days at zero cost to the Federal Government.
“President Bola Tinubu had said that his administration is making efforts to raise at least $10 billion USD to increase FX liquidity to stabilise the Naira. This was the same story that the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL, used to justify its involvement in the controversial $3.3 billion crude oil pre-payment loan it signed with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in August 2023 which did not work as planned, because we are all witness to the fact that the forex exchange rates has worsened,” he added.
