The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, has said that Nigeria continues to lose 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily to criminals and economic saboteurs.
Ribadu said this after he led a presidential delegation to inspect the oil and gas facilities at Owaza in Abia and Odogwa in Etche LGA of Rivers on Saturday.
He added that the nation’s economy is badly affected as a result of oil criminals who are behind the country’s declining crude oil production.
He said, “It is unfortunate that few individuals would steal our common resources, and in the process cause unbelievable loss to both the nation, communities and the people.
“Nigeria has the capacity to produce two million barrels of crude daily, but we are currently producing less than 1.6 million barrels due to theft and vandalism of pipelines. So, we are talking about 400,000 barrels of crude oil going to waste. “The value of 400,000 barrels of oil today is about four million dollars, and every day, we lose this amount because of this irresponsible behaviour. If you multiply four million dollars by 365 days (one year), you will see that it is a lot of money running into billions of dollars.”
Ribadu said the country is in desperate need of money as the naira continues to lose its value, hence the need for him to visit oil and gas facilities along with top security officers, which include the Minister of Defence, Minister of State for Defence, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Chief of Air Staff.
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