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By Sunday Ani
The Etsako East Local Government Chairman in Edo State, Princess Benedicta Attoh has said that Nigeria loses over 400,000 barrels of crude oil on a daily basis, stressing that the figure has continued to rise.
She described crude oil theft, pipeline vandalisation, and illegal mining as major challenges to Nigeria; a development she said has resulted in significant financial losses for the nation, environmental degradation and social instability.
She stated this recently in he keynote address at the 4th anniversary and roundtable on sustainable development organised by the Centre for Sustainable Development, Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun, Delta State.
She decried the growing trend of foreign actors exploiting local weaknesses in mineral governance, outlining poverty and lack of opportunities, lack of infrastructure and social amenities, grievances with oil companies and government, weak law enforcement and corruption, poor enforcement and inadequate surveillance technology and insufficient regional cooperation across borders as the root causes and underlying factors behind the rising wave of pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.
She noted that the daily oil theft in Nigeria was more than the total daily production of some oil rich nations. “Pipeline vandalisation causes oil spills, contaminating water sources, soil and affecting wildlife. Illegal mining leads to deforestation and soil erosion, impacting local communities.
“The absence of basic infrastructure in the Niger Delta and other oil-producing areas that are struggling with poverty, lack of education, clean water and unemployment, has further exacerbated the problem, driving more people to seek alternative means of survival,” she said.
She emphasised the urgent need for government to establish a sustainable partnership with oil producing communities to combat the menace through multi-stakeholders collaboration and encourage community members to report suspicious activity with special incentives as no outsider could protect the oil facilities in any community better than the members of such community.
She frowned at the poor enforcement of government policies, blaming it on weak institutions in the midst of powerful individuals. She questioned the reason for the poor implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and other control measures and regulatory policies.
“Sustainable security in the extractive sectors is not just a government responsibility, it is a collective duty. By forming inclusive partnerships, reducing poverty among youths, embracing technology, and enforcing transparent governance, we can stem the tide of sabotage and transform our extractive industries into engines of peace, prosperity, and sustainable growth.
“Let us move beyond reactive enforcement and build resilient systems rooted in trust, innovation and collaboration,” she said
