The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has said that the absence of reliable baseline information and data on the actual quantity of crude either lost through theft, bunkering or pipeline vandalisation was? responsible for the poor response and speculations over facts and figures required to deal with these complex problems.
To this end, the transparency agency has said it would to expand its attention to the issue of oil theft, bunkering and pipeline vandalisation in the nation’s oil and gas industry, considering the huge revenue losses to the country.
Speaking at a meeting on NEITI’s activities with Political and Economic Counsellors of the European Union (EU) member countries, Chairman of NEITI, Ledum Mittee, who unveiled NEITI’s next target, underscored the need for full and accurate data on what was being lost to the illegal activities.
Mitee said NEITI, as part of its independent audit, hoped to capture the quantity of crude stolen, quantity lost through bunkering and others through vandalisation and conspiracy, adding that “by such an exercise, it will be easier to quantify the loss and provide information publicly to raise public consciousness.
?“Full disclosure and public understanding of the quantity of crude oil either lost through vandalisation, bunkering or outright stealing and the enormous cost to the economy in financial terms will help draw national and international attention to the urgent need for solutions,” he said.
He further disclosed that NEITI’s target was to transit its activities from merely focusing on transparency through accountability to ensuring measurable impact arising from its operations with a view to ensuring that oil and gas revenues translate to good roads, electricity, among others.