Nigerian economist and banker Tony Elumelu has stated the federal government should expose those behind oil theft in the country.
In an interview published by the Financial Times on Friday, Elumelu said the government ought to know the identity of those who use vessels to steal the country’s crude oil through territorial waters.
He disclosed that he uncovered why international oil companies were partly divesting from onshore assets after criminal gangs began stealing crude from his pipelines.
According to Elumelu, the culprits take away 18 per cent of crude from his field.
“42,000 barrels of crude pumped out daily. Theft still takes away about 18 per cent of production,” he said.
Responding to a question on those possibly behind oil theft, Elumelu replied: “This is oil theft, we’re not talking about stealing a bottle of Coke you can put in your pocket.
“The government should know, they should tell us. Look at America — Donald Trump was shot at and quickly they knew the background of who shot him.
“Our security agencies should tell us who is stealing our oil. You bring vessels to our territorial waters and we don’t know?”
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