Group Backs Obasanjo, Ex-militants’ Claims On Oil Theft

A group, the Movement for the Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta (MSDND), has backed the positions of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and some ex-Niger Delta warlords over the percentages of crude oil stolen from the region and the need for the federal government to arrest the current economic hardship in the country.

Obasanjo had attributed the poor state of Nigeria’s economy to the nation’s intentional poor record keeping of the production capacity of crude oil and that 80 per cent of crude oil produced are stolen thereby depriving the nation from attaining its OPEC quota.

The MSDND in a statement yesterday signed by the publicity secretary, Kelvin Orughoe said that the position of former President Obasanjo is a clear statement made based on intelligence and in-depth knowledge of the failed battles against crude oil theft in the country.
Orughoe said, “It is time for President Bola Tinubu to take the cue and take the bull by the horn. The people stealing our crude oil are not along the creeks and waterways of the Niger Delta region. The crude oil theft is being coordinated and carried out by cartels collaborating with both state and non-state actors.

“Our investigations have revealed that senior officials at the NNPCL know exactly what is going on and they have lots of questions to answer. If President Tinubu is serious about combating crude oil theft and not just tough talk made for media propaganda, then he should immediately request to meet with these ex-militant leaders.
“They have the master-plan in their possession on how to resolve the menace of crude oil theft across the Niger Delta region within 30 days at zero cost to the federal government, and the federal and state governments, including government agencies will seatback and receive billions of dollars in increased revenues as a direct result of these ex-militants leaders proposed solutions.

“President Tinubu had said that his administration is making efforts to raise at least $10 billion USD to increase FX liquidity to stabilise the naira. This was the same story that the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), used to justify its involvement in the controversial $3.3 billion crude oil pre-payment loan it signed with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in August 2023 which did not work as planned, because we are all witness to the fact that the forex exchange rates has worsen.

“There is no need for Nigeria to keep borrowing in order to weaken our economy. The Niger Delta Ex-militant leaders have a master-plan on how Nigeria can increase our crude oil and gas production and export within thirty (30) days which will increase our annual revenue by over $10 billion USD at no cost to the federal government.”