Rep. Rurum warned that security agencies will not be blamed for oil theft at the hearing as stakeholders in the oil sectors have to be held to account.
The House of Representatives ad hoc committee set up to investigate crude oil theft and loss of revenue from gas has vowed to unveil the identities of those behind the theft of crude in the country.
Chairman of the committee, Rep. Kabiru Alhassan Rurum (NNPP, Kano) made the vow while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), ahead of its investigative hearing slated for September 7.
Rurum, who noted that oil remains the major source of revenue for the country, lamented that the problem of oil theft has continued to go from bad to worse daily.
In view of that, he said the committee’s task is to expose persons or groups of persons behind the theft of oil in the country.
“The purpose of the committee is to reveal who and who are the architects of what is going on in the area of crude oil theft. “We need to identify the culprits. This is the purpose of the investigation, and everybody including critical stakeholders should come and tell us their side of the story.”
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He, however, warned that blaming security agencies for oil theft would not be tolerated, adding that stakeholders in the oil sectors like Chevron, Shell, and host communities among others should be held to account.
The lawmaker further stated that the challenges confronting the oil sector and probable solutions will be discussed, and called on stakeholders to suggest modalities and ways to stop or minimize theft in the oil sector.
Recall that Rep. Philip Agbese (APC, Benue) in July, moved a motion on the need to investigate crude oil theft and loss of revenue accrued from the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.
In the motion, Agbese worried that a 2022 report by the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), revealed that about 619.7 million barrels of crude oil, valued at $46.16 billion have been stolen in the last 12 years.
