Billonaire banker, Tony Elumelu says it is the responsibility of the Nigerian government and security operatives to give Nigerians the identity of the crude oil thieves short changing the country
Elumelu made the assertions at an interview published in the Financial Times on Friday.
He said about 18 percent out of the 42,000 barrels of crude oil produced in the country are stolen
“42,000 barrels of crude pumped out daily. Theft still takes away about 18 percent of production, he stated.
Asked who is behind the theft, he replied, “This is oil theft, we’re not talking about stealing a bottle of coke you can put in your pocket. The government should know, they should tell us. Look at America — Donald Trump was shot at and quickly they knew the background of who shot him. Our security agencies should tell us who is stealing our oil. You bring vessels to our territorial waters and we don’t know?”
Recall that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in June 2024 revealed it recovered an additional 165 illegal refineries in various locations across the Niger Delta from where crude oil and stolen.