Nigeria Loses $1.2bn Daily To Oil Thieves – Prof Eshett

The former deputy vice chancellor, University of Science and Technology, Owerri, Prof Ebong Thomas Eshett has disclosed that Nigeria was losing about 400,000 barrels per day to oil thieves and vandals which is approximately $1.2 billion.

This is even as he called on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency in the ailing power sector saying that steady power supply had remained impossible in Nigeria since 1960.
He made this revelation in Abuja yesterday during the 10th anniversary celebration of “African Icon of Our Generation Award,” organised by Accolade Communications Limited, Lagos in collaboration with International Centre for Comparative Leadership for Africans and Blacks in Diaspora.

In his presentation titled, Reforming, Restructuring and Re-Positioning Nigeria for True Greatness and Sustainable Economic Development, he advocated for the review of jumbo salaries paid to legislators and other public office holders and channel the excess monies into projects that would alleviate poverty and create employment for the masses.

Eshett who was the deputy chairman of 2009 Agriculture and Food Security Thematic Group of Vision 20:2020, urged the federal government to urgently re-visit and implement the recommendations made by the group adding that the committee members should be co-opted into the implementation team.

According to him, the unfortunate relegation of agriculture to the background, unbalanced distribution of developmental projects across the geo-political zones, economic marginalisation of some sections of the country are deeply responsible for retarding growth in the country.

He lamented that billions of dollars were periodically smuggled out of Nigeria and stacked away in foreign banks noting that the ill-gotten monies are used to purchase expensive landed property or to establish businesses abroad that would help in boosting the economy of foreign countries at the detriment of Nigeria economy.

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