NNPCL seeks EFCC’s support in fight against oil theft

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has appealed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to help tackle the menace of crude oil theft in the country.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mele Kyari, made the appeal at an interactive session with the EFCC’s helmsman, Ola Olukoyede, which was held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.

The NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday, March 12.

The statement noted that speaking passionately about the efforts by NNPC Ltd to eradicate corruption from its system and stem crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, Kyari contended that going by the volume of oil stolen daily and the brazenness with which the perpetrators operate, crude oil theft was the most humongous and virulent economic crime in Nigeria that must attract the attention of the EFCC.

It said: “As we continue to do our best to deepen transparency and stamp out corruption from the system, there is one big challenge that you will need to help us with, Mr. Chairman. That challenge is crude theft. It fits into everything you have said – the people, the asset, the opportunity, and the absence of deterrence.

“We have deactivated 6,409 illegal refineries in the Niger Delta region. Today, we have disconnected up to 4,846 illegal pipes connected to our pipelines which is out of 5,543 such illegal connection points. That means there are a vast number of such connections that we have not removed.

“These things don’t just happen from the blues. They happen in communities and locations we all know. As we remove one illegal connection, another one comes up. It is sad, Mr. Chairman.