The Integrity Youth Alliance has said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is not complicit in oil theft, as reported in an online medium.
Reacting to the house’s ad hoc committee investigating crude oil theft and loss of revenue from oil and gas companies that said the chief culprit appeared to be the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Youth Alliance Board Chairman, Comrade Adewole Kehinde, said that it is not possible that the NNPC Limited is complicit in oil theft considering all efforts put in place so far.
“Nigerians will recall that on August 16, 2022, the NNPC launched a mobile app to put a stop to crude oil theft.
“Also, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd., Mr. Mele Kyari, and others recently carried out an aerial view of the situation in the Niger Delta.
“We are also aware that there is a new collaboration by the NNPC with security agencies and host communities to arrest the development. As part of measures aimed at boosting the level of security for Nigeria’s oil assets, the then Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, in company with the former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Usman Alkali Baba, and the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, held a meeting in Abuja with the governors of the Niger Delta states.
“The meeting, which also had the NNPCL GCEO in attendance, dwelt on the threats to the country’s oil and gas sector.
“According to the former CDS, the meeting was based on the directive by former President Muhammadu Buhari to contain the threats to the security of oil and gas assets. As he noted, the security situation in the Niger Delta demanded quick action given its effect on the country’s production capacity.
“It was after the meeting that Tantita Security Services was engaged to fight against oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
“Since their engagement by the Federal Government, Tantita, along with security agencies, has been spearheading the fight against oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta, thereby increasing the nation’s daily production.
“Also, we are aware that the NNPC Limited is working with the Nigerian Air Force to deploy drones to monitor oil pipelines in the Niger Delta and beyond.
The Alliance also said NNPC Limited has created a functional control center that sees everything concerning the pipelines.
Adewole further said that regarding the trail of financial transactions by oil thieves, NNPC Limited has gone into collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
“We all know that Nigeria’s stolen crude was definitely sold to refineries abroad since no Nigerian refinery is currently working, so the NNPC Limited is also working hard to track those refineries.
“Every barrel of crude oil that leaves this country has a unique registration number issued by the NNPC Limited and also validated by the upstream commission. And I know that the destination reporting framework is being put up by the commission, Adewole said.
