The Senate President Senator Ahmed Lawan and his colleague, Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila on Friday asked the Federal Government to declare total war on oil thieves. They both described oil thieves as the greatest enemy to the nation’s economy.
They both spoke at the formal presentation of the N20.15 trillion 2023 appropriation bill to the National Assembly.
Describing crude oil as the main source of revenue for the economy, Lawan held that activities of the saboteurs reduces the revenue available to the Federal Government adding that while before government loses an average of 700,000 to 900,000 barrels per day, the actual volume of crude oil barrels lost to the oil thieves has gone up to 1.1 trillion in the second quarter of the year.
According to Senator Lawan, one million barrels of crude oil being lost prevents the country from meeting the OPEC approved oil quota of 1.8 million barrel per day.
Also speaking Gbajabiamila said urgent steps needed to be taken to stop these economy saboteurs before they cripple the economy and run the economy aground.
Gbajabiamila however commended the Muhammadu Buhari administration for sticking to timely presentation of the budget which has aided the National Assembly to ensure early passage and made it easier for the country to revert to the January to December cycle of the fiscal appropriation plan.
Gbajabiamila who also recognised that the 2023 laid before the National Assembly would be the last for the ninth Assembly, said the leadership of the National Assembly has led with a huge measure of transparency and accountability and urged their successors to build on the legacies of the present Assembly.