Niger Delta Estimated to Have Lost $1.35bn To Oil Theft in First Quarter

November 05: Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has said that the Niger Delta region lost about 22 million barrels of crude oil, estimated at $1.35 billion to oil theft in the first quarter of 2019 Obaseki disclosed this at the weekend when he received a delegation of the National Executive Committee of the Pan Niger-Delta Forum (PANDEF), which paid him a courtesy visit.

“About 22 million barrels of crude oil cannot be accounted for in the first half of this year with an estimated cost of almost $1.35 billion, which is going to non-state actors that are operating in the region.

“There is need to use the region’s assets for economic growth to prevent people of the Niger-Delta from being short-changed and its resources used as slush funds.

“Edo is an integral part of the Niger-Delta, as a state, we tried to advance some of the issues in the 16-point agenda presented to President Muhammadu Buhari on  November 1, by over 100 senior persons of the region in a bid to find peace,” he said.

Earlier, PANDEF National Chairman, Air Commodore, Idongesit Nkanga (rtd) appealed to the governor to lend his voice to the clamour for fiscal federalism to bring progress to the Niger Delta.

The Edo State chairman of PANDEF, former Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, said the visit was to brief the governor on pending issues affecting the region, which required federal government’s attention.

Source: Daily Trust / Usman A. Bello