Connect with us

Breaking News

Senate Discovers, About N300b Crude Oil Proceeds Unaccounted For

Published

on

The recent discovery by the Senate’s ad-hoc committee investigating crude oil theft in the Niger Delta that about N300 billion crude oil proceeds were unaccounted for has been generating reactions from Nigerians.

The committee’s interim report to the Senate detailed massive discrepancies, weak oversight mechanisms and systemic lapses that have enabled large-scale diversion of Nigeria’s crude oil revenue.

A forensic review of domestic crude proceeds and tax oil proceeds records, according to the report, revealed crude oil sale’s differentials, mismatches and unaccounted funds, amounting to about $22 billion. It further found a shortfall of $81 billion between receipts declared by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and those recorded by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for 2016 and 2017.

The committee also said its review of crude oil sales from 2015 to date, supported by investigations from international consultants projected that over $200 billion proceeds from the crude oil sales remained unaccounted for globally.

The interim report, which followed months of document reviews, written submissions and public hearings, traced the problem to faulty measurement systems, weak regulatory oversight and poor coordination among the government’s agencies.

It identified the use of unverified measuring instruments, lack of metrological control, ineffective interagency collaboration and uncoordinated enforcement mechanisms as major enablers of crude oil theft.

The report, however, faulted the suspension of the Weights and Measures Department’s activities in the upstream sector under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, saying the decision undermined accountability and accurate measurement in crude oil operations.

It also noted that the absence of a special court to prosecute oil thieves and the non-implementation of the Host Communities Development Trust Fund, HCDTF, under the PIA had contributed to persistent sabotage and theft in oil-producing areas.

The committee projected that the unaccounted proceeds from the domestic crude sales amounted to about N300 billion, calling for urgent local and international tracking, tracing and recovery of stolen crude oil funds for the benefit of the country.

It urged the Federal Government to mandate the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, to enforce international crude oil measurement standards at all production sites and export terminals or restore the Weights and Measures Department to its former regulatory role.

They also urged the government to provide the security agencies with modern surveillance technology and equipment, including unmanned aerial vehicles, to strengthen monitoring of oil facilities and detect theft and leakages in real time.

It called for the establishment of a Maritime Trust Fund to support the development and maintenance of maritime infrastructure, training and safety operations, as well as the creation of a special court to promptly prosecute crude oil thieves and their collaborators.

 

Read The Full Story / Watch The Full Video

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Breaking News

POLITICS: Wike-led PDP Faction Takes Over Party Secretariat In Oyo

Published

on

Members of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, loyal to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, have taken over the secretariat of the party in Oyo State.

The secretariat, located in the Molete area of Ibadan, was in the custody of the faction loyal to Governor Seyi Makinde of the state until Thursday when the members loyal to Wike took over the premises.

DAILY POST gathered that the PDP members stormed the secretariat on Thursday and occupied the premises with hundreds of members of the party in attendance.

PDP chairman in the state, Professor Abdulrahman Akinoso, confirmed the development to DAILY POST.

Akinoso in a telephone conversation with DAILY POST on Thursday, insisted that the real owners have taken over the premises.

He said, “It is true. It is not faction. It is PDP. We have taken over the premises. It was in the morning. We were there in the morning. We just left the premises. We are now in control. We have taken over the premises.” .…For more, Complete your reading.

Read The Full Story / Watch The Full Video

Continue Reading

Breaking News

POLITICS: Foreign Recognition Won’t Secure Re-election – ADC Tells Tinubu

Published

on

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has told President Bola Tinubu that foreign recognition will not secure him another term in office, insisting that Nigerians will judge his administration by its performance, not by diplomatic gestures from other world leaders.

In a statement issued on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party reacted to the Presidency’s celebration of a purported letter from United States President Donald Trump to Tinubu.

The ADC said presenting the letter as an endorsement of Tinubu’s administration was misleading, stressing that diplomatic correspondence between world leaders is a normal part of international relations.

“The Presidency’s attempt to present President Donald Trump’s letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as though it were a referendum on the state of the nation is not correct,” the party said.

According to the ADC, countries cooperate, leaders exchange views and letters regularly, adding that such communication does not amount to an endorsement of a government’s performance.

The party accused the Tinubu administration of being desperate for international validation instead of focusing on solving Nigeria’s challenges.

“It is apparent that this administration is desperate to seize upon any gesture of international recognition as proof of success at home,” the statement said.

The ADC maintained that “a letter from a foreign president, however well-intentioned, cannot substitute for the verdict of the Nigerian people.”

It added that the true measure of any government is not what foreign leaders say about it, but what citizens experience daily.

The opposition party argued that Trump’s letter had not changed the reality facing millions of Nigerians, especially those affected by insecurity.

“For the millions of Nigerians still living with the consequences of this government’s failures, President Trump’s communication changes nothing. It did not say that insecurity has been overcome or that Nigerians can once again travel freely, farm safely and sleep without fear,” the party stated.

The ADC also pointed to the continued captivity of hundreds of women and children in parts of Borno State and Kaiama in Kwara State, while many communities in Benue and other parts of the country still live in constant fear because of insecurity.

The party further noted that, despite the Presidency’s celebration of the letter, the United States Department of State has not changed its travel advisory for Nigeria.

According to the ADC, several Nigerian states remain under Level 3 and Level 4 travel advisories, with American citizens still being urged to reconsider or avoid travel because of crime, terrorism, kidnapping and civil unrest.

“We therefore wonder how correspondence from a government that designates several Nigerian states as ‘Do Not Travel’ areas can be regarded as an endorsement,” the party said.

It argued that the travel advisory shows the international assessment of Nigeria’s security situation remains different from the image the Presidency is trying to project.

The ADC said Nigerians are more concerned about their safety than diplomatic exchanges between presidents.

“The daily reality of Nigerians is shaped not by diplomatic correspondence, but by the guarantee that they can go about their lives without falling victim to violent crime or terrorism,” it said.

The party stressed that Trump’s letter was simply communication between two presidents and “does not amount to an endorsement of this government’s overall performance.”

It urged the Tinubu administration to focus less on celebrating diplomatic courtesies and more on delivering measurable improvements in the lives of Nigerians.

“Ultimately, Nigerians will not judge this government by the letters it receives from foreign capitals. They will judge it by whether .…For more, Complete your reading.

Read The Full Story / Watch The Full Video

Continue Reading

Trending