Amid the backdrop of unending crude theft in Nigeria, human rights activist Chief Femi Falana on Monday tasked the federal government with installing technology to monitor crude theft in the country.
He said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), now Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd (NNPC Ltd), bought N50 billion worth of equipment seven years ago but had not yet installed it, requiring it to install technology immediately to deter crude oil theft.
Falana spoke at the 13th Commemorative Lecture and Social Dinner in honor of foremost human rights activist and social crusader, Chief Gani Fawehinmi.
The monument attracts elites from civil society, including some of the 2023 presidential candidates such as Omoyele Sowore of the Africa Action Congress (AAC), Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and others.
Farana, who chaired the lecture, lamented the ongoing debate on oil theft, saying simple technology acquired by the government could thwart the threat.
The Daily Trust reported that the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Comptroller Colonel. The rtd’s Hameed Ali dismissed the claim that the daily oil supply was 68 million litres, but the NNPCL said it was ready for a forensic audit on the issue.
Talking about the development, Farana said the government refused to adopt modern technology to track the daily supply of gasoline in order to sustain the theft of the nation’s resources.
“It is a disgrace that we say with deep respect that Nigeria is the world’s largest oil producer for imported fuel and other petroleum products.
“Secondly, we would like to say publicly that the NNPC purchased a software seven years ago to monitor and track the fuel loading of every tanker in Nigeria, which installed about 50 billion naira.
“You’ve been told that 400 barrels of crude oil are stolen every day in Nigeria. Nigeria is the only oil producer that refuses to install meters to know how much oil is being produced every day. The smuggler’s government refuses to install the necessary technology.
“The reason the government refuses to modernize is: if they installed the technology, there would be no stealing.
“So we are saying here today that the NNPC must disclose to Nigerians why the software obtained seven years ago has been disabled by the government so that the tankers can take out the fuel.
“Fuel is taken out by tankers and not by Okadas. So you will need at least 2000 tankers to take out what they say is the large amount of fuel smuggled out of the country, which is impossible. We also ask the government to install machines, the meters, that allow The government knows the amount of fuel produced every day.
“There is an international shipping company. Every ship that takes oil from anywhere in the world is monitored. The way our oil is stolen. The point where the oil is taken, the ship is loaded, the fuel is taken out by the criminals will determine how many liters of fuel are smuggled and then get paid .
“Between January 2011 and February 2014, 62 million barrels of crude oil, valued at $12.7 billion, were found to have been shipped from Nigeria alone to the Port of Philadelphia and not recorded in Nigeria. Members of your National Assembly, including those from Lagos , did not ask any questions.
“So when we leave here, they have to be sane in every constituency. You have to ask them why they are doing this fraud. If we can start in Lagos, we can do it nationally.”
Sowore praised Gani Fawehinmi’s virtues, saying he had represented the Nigerian people throughout his life.
“Not enough people stand up for the Nigerian people, which is neither fair nor honest.
“Ghani was a man who dared to challenge the devil and an inspiration for everyone who dared to take risks. When there was no one in this country to create a party, he created one in 1994 under the junta. “After a while Time, he was betrayed. His NCP (National Party of Conscience) has become something else. We don’t have NCP anymore.
“Ghani has always stood for justice. When the army was leaving in 1999, Ghani told us we couldn’t trust the army and we should go find something to do. That’s how I left Nigeria. By the time he decided to run for office in 2003, the thief They have consolidated their power model.
“Ghani can’t boast any decent electoral numbers. I’m not here to justify these numbers because they have never had free and fair elections in this country before. If there were free and fair elections, I couldn’t have done so in 2019. Defeat Buhari.”