The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) , a non-governmental organization Tuesday, urged the federal government through its anti-graft agencies to swing into action and prosecute those involved in the intercepted N45 billion vessel with stolen crude oil.
Based on the current price of $75 per barrel, the seized 800,000 litres of crude oil is approximately $60 million. When converted at an exchange rate of N750 to $1, the value of the stolen crude oil equates to N45 billion.
“The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) is deeply concerned about this incident, particularly in light of the President Bola Tinubu administration’s commitment to combating corruption and strengthening public finances. For the past two years, Nigeria has been unable to meet its OPEC production quota, largely due to rampant oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta.
“Nigeria’s debt burden is already significant, with the World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update of June 2023 reporting that public and publicly guaranteed debt reached 40 percent of GDP in 2022. Additionally, the debt servicing to revenue ratio surpassed 100 percent of general government revenues for the first time, reaching 101.5 percent. The World Bank projects that Nigeria’s debt-to-service revenue ratio may peak at 121 percent in 2023.
“In light of this precarious situation, it is imperative to prevent the loss of public revenue to criminal activities while citizens bear the brunt of increased taxes and economic challenges. CSJ strongly recommends that the perpetrators of these crimes be publicly named and brought to trial within a reasonable time to serve as a deterrent to others,” CSJ said in a statement by its Lead Director, Barr. Eze Onyekpere, Tuesday in Abuja.
CSJ therefore advised the government against the traditional approach of burning intercepted vessels. “Instead, the stolen crude oil should be salvaged to recover the value lost, the vessel sold and the proceeds transferred to the public treasury. These large-scale thefts of crude oil must not be allowed to persist if the government is to achieve its revenue targets and stabilise the economy.”
The NGO further called on the government to take immediate action to block revenue leakages and implement measures to improve the economy without further delay.
