Chairman of UBA Banking Group and Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu has averred that Nigeria loses 95 per cent of its crude oil to looters under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The entrepreneur, while reacting to recent developments in the country in a series of tweet, lamented that Bonny Terminal ought to be receiving 200,000 barrels of crude oil as against the 3,000 barrel it gets on a daily basis.
Elumelu’s comments come on the heel of the recent national grid collapse that has continued to put the entirety of Nigeria in thick darkness as well as the continued hike in the pump price of diesel.
It was earlier reported that the pump price of diesel hit a record high of N800 per litre, with the new price showing a significant increase in pump price from the initial N225 per litre sold in January 2021.
Mostly used by large scale businesses in their daily activities in the wake of the erratic power supply being experienced in the country, the price of diesel, which is largely unregulated, has surged by over 113 per cent in the last 14 months.
Elumelu urged that by 2023, Nigeria must be on a strong trajectory for progress and development.
He said he has been listening to colleagues at his office bemoan the very pressing issues that they face every day in the country, and how things have been getting worse, resulting in no electricity for 5 days, hikes in the price of diesel, frightening food inflation, amongst others.
He said, “How can a country so rich in natural resources have 90% of its citizens living in hardship and poverty? I have often said that access to electricity is critical for our development, alleviation of poverty and hardship. And speaking of security, our people are afraid!.”
“How can we be losing over 95% of oil production to thieves? Look at the Bonny Terminal that should be receiving over 200k barrels of crude oil daily, instead, it receives less than 3,000 barrels, leading the operator Shell to declare force majeure.
“It is clear that the reason Nigeria is unable to meet its OPEC production quota is not because of low investment but because of theft, pure and simple!
“Meanwhile, oil-producing countries are smiling as their foreign reserve is rising. What is Nigeria’s problem? We need to hold our leaders more accountable!” he said.
The UBA boss stated that evil prevails when good people are silent, urging Nigerians to demand and advocate for leaders that will deliver in 2023 elections. “Nigeria must be on a strong trajectory for progress and development,” he said.
It is important to note that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) recently revealed that Nigeria’s crude oil production fell to 1.417 million barrels per day in the month of February compared to 1.427 for the month of January.
They also warned that “Higher food costs related to the geopolitical tensions could further fuel inflation. Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria’s PMI surged to 57.3 in February from 53.7 in the previous month, as the non-oil private sector expanded the most since November 2019.
“The increasing oil price might provide ample support for the Nigerian economy. Yet the disruption to global trade flows and supply shortages could offset this positive impact.”
