Oil workers in Lagos State under aegis of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have taken the campaign against crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism to Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, urging the police and other security agencies to stop the menace before they collapse the nation’s economy.
Leaders of Lagos Zonal council of PENGASSAN, led by its Chairman Eyam Abeng, lamented that the activities of crude oil thieves and pipeline vandals are seriously bleeding the country’s economy making it near impossible for government at all levels to meet their responsibilities to the citizens.
At a protest rally in Lagos, the oil workers called on all stakeholders including the host communities and security agencies to work together to end the activities of the criminals and their local and foreign collaborators.
The protest letter to the Commissioner of Police, received by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP, Area F Command, Ikeja, John Sango, the oil workers informed that according to a statistics by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, our country lost about $3.2 billion (about N1.36 trillion) in crude oil theft between January 2021 and February 2022. This has affected the production capacity of the OPEC, the global oil producing organisation as over 95 percent of oil production is lost to thieves.
In the letter titled EVILS OF OIL THEFT AND PIPELINE VANDALISM, signed by Senior Assistant General Secretary of the zone, Babatunde Oke, among others, PENGASSAN said “Activities of the criminals involving in oil theft and pipeline vandalism have serious environmental degradation, air pollution and other pollutions that have affected the agricultural lives of inhabitants of the oil producing and pipeline areas. Most International Oil Companies (IOCs) are divesting when there is no new investment in the oil and gas industry due to the menace of oil theft and pipeline vandalism .
“The most excruciating impact is the loss of revenue that could have accrued to the nation’s purse for the improvement of lives of the masses to these thieves. This has also aggravated poverty in the country and shortage in foreign exchange earnings as oil that could have been used to generate the foreign exchange are stolen by the thieves. As a result of this, most products that are imported are out of the reach of the masses and there is reduction in purchasing power of Nigerians. The twin evil of oil theft and vandalism can also be said to have the indirect impact in brain drain in the country.
“To this end and a responsible trade union, we have taken it upon ourself not only to create awareness and sensitisation but also to engage and get your buy-in and support of security agencies, especially the Police as part of industry-wide intervention mission to find a lasting solution to curb crude oil theft in Nigeria. We seek a collaborative effort with the Police to stop the alarming levels of crude oil theft, which has now become a national emergency. The Police should step up mechanism and efforts in defending oil and gas installations all over the country.”
It added “We assure you of our maximum cooperation in the efforts to rid this country of oil thieves and vandals.”
