Nigeria: Press spotlights N4.3tn lost to oil theft in five years, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria) ‘
he report disclosure by the Nigerian Government on Monday that more than N4.3tn worth of crude oil was stolen in 7,143 pipeline vandalism cases within a period of five years is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Punch reports that the Nigerian Government, on Monday, revealed that more than N4.3tn worth of crude oil was stolen in 7,143 pipeline vandalism cases within a period of five years.
It disclosed this at the Nigeria International Pipeline Technology and Security Conference in Abuja, with the theme, ‘Bolstering Regulations, Technology and Security for Growth.’ The conference was organised by the Pipeline Professionals Association of Nigeria.
In a presentation at the conference by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, a Federal Government agency, the organisation revealed that oil theft and losses in Nigeria had become a national emergency.
The Executive Secretary, NEITI, Ogbonnaya Orji, said oil theft was an emergency that posed serious threat to oil exploration and exploitation with huge negative consequences on economic growth, business prospects and profit earnings by oil companies.
Providing data from the agency’s reports to back his claims, he said: “NEITI disclosed that in the last five years, 2017 to 2021, Nigeria recorded 7,143 cases of pipeline breakages and deliberate vandalism resulting in crude theft and product losses of 208.639 million barrels valued at $12.74m or N4.325tn.
“NEITI reports also disclosed that during the same period Nigeria spent N471.493bn to either repair or maintain pipelines.”
Orji pointed out that from NEITI’s 2021 Oil and Gas Industry Report released in September, the sector accounted for 72.26 per cent of Nigeria’s total export and government’s foreign exchange, 40.55 per cent of government revenue, and provided 19,171 jobs.
The newspaper says that the Nigerian Government has called for interventions in the aspect of cargo evacuation in African Ports.
The President, Bola Tinubu, said this on Monday, in Lagos, during the 43rd annual council meeting of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa.
Speaking at the meeting themed, ‘The role of ports in the African Continental Free Trade Area’, the president said that seamless cargo evacuation is another major challenge ports in the continent are facing.
Tinubu who was represented at the event by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, added that the theme of the meeting is a testament to the determination of the organisers to collectively seek sustainable solutions to the challenges that port operations face on the continent.
“After the issues of adequate security and transparency, one other important factor deciding the competitiveness of ports is the seamlessness and efficiency with which cargoes are evacuated to and from the ports. This, without doubt, is an area in which port operations in Africa need a lot of intervention,” he stated.
The president disclosed that there is an ongoing discussion between Nigeria and other African countries on the need to invest in port infrastructure to support trade facilitation.
The newspaper says that the Nigerian Government has called for interventions in the aspect of cargo evacuation in African Ports.
The President, Bola Tinubu, said this on Monday, in Lagos, during the 43rd annual council meeting of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa.
Speaking at the meeting themed, ‘The role of ports in the African Continental Free Trade Area’, the president said that seamless cargo evacuation is another major challenge ports in the continent are facing.
Tinubu who was represented at the event by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, added that the theme of the meeting is a testament to the determination of the organisers to collectively seek sustainable solutions to the challenges that port operations face on the continent.
“After the issues of adequate security and transparency, one other important factor deciding the competitiveness of ports is the seamlessness and efficiency with which cargoes are evacuated to and from the ports. This, without doubt, is an area in which port operations in Africa need a lot of intervention,” he stated.
The Nigerian president disclosed that there is an ongoing discussion between Nigeria and other African countries on the need to invest in port infrastructure to support trade facilitation.
The Guardian reports that three persons were feared dead yesterday, while many others were wounded following a fire outbreak at the Canadian Embassy in Abuja.
The incident caused pandemonium as the embassy staff, mostly Canadians, scampered for safety, while rescuers ensured prompt evacuation of the injured ones.
According to eyewitnesses, the fire broke while the embassy’s power generating plant was being repaired, killing three persons, who were part of the crew, while one person escaped through the roof of the power house.
A local staff, who ran out of the embassy for refuge, said the fire started at about 11:30 a.m.
When The Guardian visited, firefighters were battling to put out the fire, while rescuers were moving staffs out of the embassy to safety.
Confirming the incident, Head of Operations, Federal Capital Territory Fire Service, Amiola Adebayo, said two people were fatally injured beyond recognition in the incident, four others have been rushed to the hospitals.
However, Adebayo did not confirm the cause of the fire or the nationality of those affected.
Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sympathised with the Canadian government, diplomatic community, and all persons affected by the fire incident.
Tinubu, in a statement by his spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, assured the Canadian authorities of the full support of the Nigerian government in the aid of diplomatic and local staff of the High Commission who were affected by the incident.
The newspaper says that 11 days after the Supreme Court of Nigeria pronouncement on the February 25 presidential poll, which validated the victory of President Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, yesterday broke his silence, expressing disappointment that the apex court judgment dashed the hopes of a majority of Nigerians by sacrificing justice for political expediency.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the LP standard bearer, however, said as democrats, after exhausting all legal means to challenge the 2023 general elections, the party is now ready to take the message of a new Nigeria to the grassroots, signaling that he will contest the 2027 presidential election.
He further canvassed a single five-year term for Nigeria’s presidency for each of the geo-political zones with a 30-year rotation system. This is against the norm of a two-term tenure of four years each patterned after the United States democracy.
Obi said the proposal formed part of his campaign during the electioneering period, adding that he would have moved for the amendment of the Constitution to allow the President to stay only five years in office.
“We campaigned on the issue of restructuring and reform and that would have included an amendment to make this Constitution a workable and functional one that would be productive for Nigerians. Included in that would have been the issue of single tenure. I would go for a five-year tenure, which would go for 30 years rotational presidency across the six geo-political regions.”
His proposal comes in response to a similar briefing by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the same election, Atiku Abubakar, who suggested a constitutional amendment to establish a six-year single term for the president.
The 62-year-old further proposed the implementation of a quasi-system that would enable leaders in office to simultaneously participate in the legislature. In addition, he said a mechanism for leaders to be answerable to the public through regular question-and-answer sessions should be established.
GIK/APA