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Former NEITI Boss Warns against Exaggerating Oil Theft

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By Joseph Amah, Abuja

A former Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Waziri Adio, says oil theft is not the only reason for the underperformance of the petroleum sector. 

Nigeria has been recording low production and dwindling revenue in recent times and is unable to take advantage of the rising oil prices resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Last Wednesday, a federal government team visited a site in Rivers state where they said oil theft was going on.

Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, led the team that included, Chief of Defense,  Lt general Lucky Irabor, Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mele Kyari, and CEO of Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe.

Writing in his weekly column in a national daily on Sunday, Adio commended government for “seeming” to finally take the issue more seriously, noting that “the increasingly audacious and humongous theft of crude oil and refined products poses a multiplicity of threats to oil companies and all tiers of governments, to the environment, to the livelihoods of citizens and communities, and, mostly importantly, to national security”.

However, he said “it is important to go beyond clever soundbites and photo-ops. It will also be necessary not to return to the same measures that have proven grossly ineffective over the time, and not to succumb to schemes designed merely to take advantage of the situation”.

Adio, who presided over NIETI between 2016 and 2021, said it is critical to get the accurate figures of the theft as a starting point.

“There have been screaming headlines and viral tweets that between 80% and 95% of Nigeria’s crude oil is lost to oil thieves. This cannot be true. Anyone with little familiarity with the sector, and this should include most Nigerians, should question the figures being touted,” he wrote.

“Nigeria’s oil production figures can easily be accessed locally and internationally. Our oil production, minus condensates, has hovered between 1.2 million and 1.4 million barrels per day for some time now, due to reduced OPEC quota and other factors.

“As low as they are, these figures do not represent 20% or 5% of our daily production. Even if we put Nigeria’s daily oil production at one million barrels, saying the country is losing between 80% to 95% of its oil production will suggest that Nigeria is producing between five million and 20 million barrels of crude oil per day. That would be nice but it is simply not true. Our record daily production till date remains 2.7 million barrels, and that record was set in 2005.

“Another way of looking at the figures being bandied will be to say we are actually producing between 1.2 million and 1.4 million barrels per day but losing between 80% to 95% of these to oil thieves. This would mean that the thieves leave between 60, 000 barrels and 280, 000 barrels per day for the oil companies and the Federation to share after carting away between 80% and 95% of oil production. This is simply implausible. Given that the Federation gets about 30% of oil produced, are they suggesting that the Federation now gets only between 18, 000 barrels and 84, 000 barrels of crude oil per day?”

He said as serious as the issue of oil theft is, “we don’t need to sex up the numbers or encourage misrepresentation”.

“My sense is that some misreporting or misrepresentation is going on here, and those with the responsibility to provide clarity are looking away for less than noble reasons,” he added.

“Surely, issues have different gestation periods. Now that oil theft has finally got our attention, it is important we go beyond just putting up appearances, making a grand show of destroying illegal refineries as if that is all there is to oil theft, devising schemes to further milk the state, and presenting oil theft as the sole reason for the decline in oil production and revenue.

“We have no option but to tackle oil theft. It has become an existential challenge. But we need to address this in a comprehensive and strategic way, not in the usual impulsive and episodic manner. And in the little time left for oil, we need to pay serious attention to the many issues, including suboptimal decisions and choices that have led to the underperformance of our hydrocarbon sector.”

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Abuja Stampede: Wike Directs Free Treatment for Victims

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Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike has directed government hospitals to provide free treatment to the people that sustained injuries during a stampede at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, Abuja.Wike gave the directive in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Mr Lere Olayinka, in Abuja on Saturday.

No fewer than 10 people including children lost their lives while 10 others sustained injuries to the stampede, during the distribution of food items to less privileged and the elderly by the church.
The sad incident occurred around 6:30 a.m on Saturday.Wike said that the FCT Administration would ensure that the injured received adequate medical attention.
The minister, who commiserated with the victims, also directed that henceforth, police permission should be obtained by individuals or organizations planning public distribution of palliatives, either food items or cash.Describing the incident as “painful”, Wike prayed for the repose of the souls of the lives that were lost and fortitude for their families to bear the irreparable loss.He commended the Police and other security agencies for their prompt intervention, saying, “the promptness in which security agencies responded to the incident was commendable.”In a related development, the FCT Emergency Management Department (FEMD), equally commiserated with the victims of the stampede.The acting Director General of the department, Mr Abdulrahman Mohammed, in a statement said that nine out of the 10 injured persons earlier taken to Maitama District Hospital, have been treated and discharged.Mohammed also appealed to organisations that intended to give out food items to the less privileged to involve security agencies or FEMD for adequate planning to ensure safety of beneficiaries.He also advised the use of coupons and segregation of the beneficiaries into groups to avoid crowd and rowdiness that could lead to stampedes.Similarly, the Police Command in the FCT has ordered organisations, religious bodies, groups, or individuals to notify the police when planning public events, charitable activities, or large gatherings in the territory.In a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer in the FCT, SP Josephine Adeh, said that the notification was to enable the police to deploy adequate security measures for public safety.According to her, failure to comply with the directive will result in the organisers being held liable for any incident or loss of life resulting from negligenceMeanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force has issued a warning against the unorganised distribution of palliatives and funfairs, which have led to stampedes and fatalities among vulnerable citizens.The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, gave the warning during a media briefing on Saturday in Abuja.Adejobi explained that the warning came in response to the increasing number of stampedes resulting in injuries and deaths, particularly during palliative distributions. (NAN)

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NDA Records Successes in Military Training, Academics in 2024

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The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), says it has recorded a lot of successes in military training and academic activities in 2024.

The Commandant of NDA, Maj.-Gen. John Ochai, said this at the Nigerian Defence Academy Social Activities (NDASA), held at the headquarters of the academy Afaka  on Friday in Kaduna.

Ochai said the essence of NDASA was to end training activities of the year.

He said the 2024 NDASA was unique because the academy marked 60 years of existence from 1964-2024.

Also of significance, Ochai said,  NDA had passed out the largest number of officers commissioned into the Armed Forces of Nigeria in 2024.

Equally, he said, in the same year (2024), the academy had the largest number of officers trained outside the country.

He emphasised that the NDA does not only train leaders for the Nigerian Armed Forces, but those for the Nigerian nation and humanity at large.

“After five years of training, we imbibe in officers leadership qualities that are everlasting.

”The traditions, ethos, characters that we instill in our cadets follow them forever and become very useful in all spheres of human endeavors,” Ochai said.

Mr Martins Amaram, Country Security Manager, Nigeria Breweries, PLC , who was the Special Guest of Honour, said the event fostered unity, cultural awareness and comradeship among the cadets and the larger community.

Amaram said, “The academy has always been a beacon of excellence in producing military leaders  for integrity, resilience and capacity to face in a dynamic and complex world .

“Beyond academics and military training the academy still values cultural respect and social engagement, recognising the diversity of our great country. Nigeria.”

He commended NDA for creating the platform where cadets can appreciate the rich cultures and build bonds that transit borders.

Amaram added, “The Armed Forces of Nigeria are playing a critical role in ensuring the stability and progress of our nation. “

He urged the academy to continue to record more successes in its mission of excellence and service to the nation.

Report says that awards were given to deserving soldiers who distinguished themselves in 2024.

report says that 22 soldiers were decorated from Warrant Officer(WO) to Master Warrant Officers(MWO). (NAN)

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Corps Member Donates Delivery Kits to Pregnant Women in Katsina

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A Corps member serving in Katsina State, Blessing Ene-Ameh, has distributed free delivery kits to 50 pregnant women in Mani town, Mani Local Government Area of the state

The corps member distributed the delivery kits to the expectant mothers in Mani on Friday as part of her personal Community Development Service (CDS)project.

Eneh-Ameh said that she visited a hospital in the area during one of her group CDS programmes and observed that the hygiene of women in the antenatal and children’s wards was not too good.

The corps member also stated that she had noticed that the turn up of pregnant women for antenatal care was very low.

She said, ”This attracted my attention to the need to educate pregnant women on its importance.

“There is also the need for them to keep themselves and their surroundings very neat to avoid infections for themselves and their babies.

“The aim was also to educate them on the importance of planning for the future of the baby.

”They also need to be staying clean to reduce the risk of contracting infections and other diseases by both the mothers and children, as well as the community in general.

“The training will empower the women to be able to handle and bring up children for the family,”  Eneh-Ameh explained.

The NYSC Coordinator in the state, Alhaji Sa’idu Ibrahim, commended the corps member for her ingenuity and magnanimity to carry out the project.

Represented by the Local Government Inspector, Alhaji Abdulrazak Ismail-Tsiga, the coordinator urged the corps members serving in the state and other parts of the country to emulate her. (NAN)

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