Tony Elumelu, Nigerian economist, says the Federal Government and its security agents should be able to tell citizens who steal the country’s crude oil.
The philanthropist who stated this in an interview published by the Financial Times on Friday said the government should disclose those who use vessels to move through the territorial waters.
According to him, oil theft contributes to the divestment of international oil companies in Nigeria.
He said he discovered first-hand why international oil companies were partly divesting from onshore assets after criminal gangs began stealing crude from his pipelines.
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Speaking with Financial Times, Elumelu, expressed optimism, saying, however, that oil thieves still 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 stated.
Reacting to who is behind the theft, he 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?”
