Against the backdrop of persistent oil theft in Nigeria, human rights activist Chief of Staff Femi Farana ordered the federal government on Monday to put in place technology to monitor oil theft in the country.
He said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) (now Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC Ltd)) acquired £50bn worth of equipment not yet installed seven years ago and immediately developed the technology to stop oil theft. He said he asked for it to be installed.
Falana spoke at the 13th Anniversary Lecture and Social Night Tribute to honor the memory of frontline human rights activist and social activist Sheikh Gani Whawehimmi.
The memorial brought together the highest luminaries of civil society, including 2023 presidential candidates such as Omoyele Soiree of the African Action Conference (AAC) and Adevol Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Farana, who chaired the speech, deplored the ongoing debate over oil theft, saying simple technology acquired by the government would have stopped the threat.
The Daily Trust reported that the head of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali, rtd, had broken a claim of 68 million liters of oil supply per day, but the NNPCL had no public opinion on the matter. It said it was ready for a forensic audit.
Regarding the development, Falana said the government has refused to employ the latest technology in tracking the daily gasoline supply in order to sustain the theft of the country’s resources.
“It is unfortunate that Nigeria is a world oil producer importing fuel and other petroleum products.
“Second, I would like to publicly say that NNPC acquired the software to monitor and track all tankers loading fuel in Nigeria seven years ago and that the software was installed at around Naira 50 billion.
“It is said that 400 barrels of crude oil are stolen every day in Nigeria. Nigeria is the only oil producing country that has refused to install meters to know its daily oil production. refused to install any technology.
“Here’s why the government refused to be modern: If they introduced technology, there would be no stealing.
“Therefore, I am saying here today that NNPC must disclose to Nigerians why the software acquired seven years ago was disabled by the government so that the tankers could extract the fuel.
“The fuel is transported by tankers, not by Okada. We are challenging the government to install a machine, a meter, that will allow us to know how much fuel is being produced each day.
“There are international shipping companies. All ships carrying fuel from anywhere in the world are monitored. How our oil is stolen. Determine how many liters of fuel are smuggled and collect money.
“From January 2011 to February 2014, Nigeria’s unrecorded 62 million barrels of crude oil, valued at $12.7 billion, have been found to have left the port of Philadelphia alone. The people of your National Assembly, including the people of Lagos, are not asking questions.
“So when we leave here they have to be smart in their respective constituencies. We need to question why they are doing this scam. We can do it all over the country.”
Sowore praised Gani Fawehinmi’s virtues and said he stood up for the people of Nigeria during his lifetime.
“There are not enough people who have stood up for the Nigerian people, they are not fair or honest.
“Gani is a man who defied the devil and is an inspiration to all daredevils. “After a while he was betrayed. His NCP (National Conscience Party) became something else. There is no more NCP.”
“Gani always stood for justice. When the military withdrew in 1999, Gani said, we cannot trust the military. That is how I left Nigeria. By 2003, when he decided to run for office, Thieves had consolidated modes of power.
“Ghani could not boast of significant electoral numbers. I am not here to justify the numbers, as the country has never had free and fair elections. With free and fair elections, there’s no way he wouldn’t have beaten Buhari in 2019.”
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