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From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Following the controversial N4bn per month pipeline surveillance contract awarded to Mr. Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo) and revelations by controller general of Nigerian Customs and Chief Of Naval Staff on the state of subsidy and stolen crude claims, Concerned Northern Forum on Sunday asked President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The forum in collaboration with other civil society groups in the region at a press briefing tagged “The State of the Nation” held at popular Arewa House, Kaduna, specifically called for termination of the surveillance contract awarded to Tompolo and at the same time called on the national assembly to make the ongoing subsidy probe a public affairs.
Chairman of the Forum, Ibrahim Bature, admitted that the region is bleeding as a result of activities of terrorists which includes but not limited to Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), Boko Haram, bandits, farmers/herders clashes quickly added that efforts by government seems to yield no results as the “terrorists keep terrorizing our communities daily”.
According to Bature, while crude oil could be purchased in the market, live is sacrosanct and can only be given by God, wondering why the government “we overwhelmingly voted for would pay attention to crude oil theft more than our lives and properties”.
He said, “the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Gambo faulted the outrageous and unrealistic figure being dished out as the volume of oil being stolen per day. Both the NNPC LTD and Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources estimated that between 200,000-400,000 barrels of crude are stolen per day.
“By implication, if 400,000 barrels are stolen per day, which will be equivalent to 63.2million litres, it means five ton barge will make 12,640 trips a day which is impossible no matter the speed considering the increased presence of security operatives in the maritime environment as well as the deluge of the subsisting operations of Dakatar Da Barawo by the Nigerian Navy.
“Again, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), through its Controller General also faulted the claims by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited that Nigerians consume “60 million litres of petrol daily.
He went further to ask the NNPC why they release 98 Million Litres into the market daily, while our daily consumption is pegged at 60 million liters? Nigerians are still awaiting the answer. Over 500 trucks with 70,000 litres carrying capacity are expected to lift the product daily out of Nigeria as smuggled content.
“From the foregoing, the implication of the false claims by the NNPCL is that over 2,000 trucks might be working daily in Nigeria to steal either crude oil or imported refined fuel without being detected by our Satellite system, under the watchful eyes of NIGCOMSAT.
“We wish to call on Mr President to look critically into the position of both the Nigeria Custom and Nigeria Navy over the outrageous claims of theft in the Oil and Gas sector by the NNPC. Both can’t be wrong while the NNPC is right. Hence, heavy sanction should be imposed on the top management of the company.
2) Our group deduced that the subsidy regime which has regularly stopped the NNPC from contributing revenue into the Federation Account for sharing during FAAC meetings is the greatest crime being perpetrated against Nigerians which has denied them infrastructural development, hence, FG should consider ending the subsidy.
“We urge the Federal Government to channel the N48 billion Tompolo will be earning annually to address the developmental and environmental need of the Niger Delta people rather than sharing such funds for the boys.
“We call on the federal government to declare state of emergency in the NNPCLTD by appointing Military Administrators to watch over the affairs of the Company pending on when investigation will be concluded into the subsidy regime that cost the country trillions of Naira annually”, he narrated.
