Obi, in a tweet on Wednesday, said he is struck and intrigued by the news report linking “highly placed” Nigerians to oil theft, demanding that the identity of such people be disclosed so that Nigerians can know the people sabotaging and destroying national economy.
He said: “Same has been the case with financing insurgency and Boko Haram. When will the Federal Government summon the political will to publicly name such persons? In the national Interest, there should be no sacred cows.”
Recall that Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mele Kyari, told State House Correspondents in Abuja, on Tuesday, that “highly placed” Nigerians, including religious, community leaders and government officials, were fully involved in crude oil theft.
Kyari further disclosed that the entire network of pipelines for petroleum products distribution in the country had been deliberately shut down as a result of the activities of vandals, and also because the refineries were not operating as a business but incurring losses.
He further alleged that stolen crude oil products are now stored in places of worship such as churches and mosques, even as he lamented that the phenomenon had become widespread, permeating several aspects of society.
He said that NNPC operatives had discovered that stolen petroleum products are stored in places of worship with the consent of the clergy, members, and neighbours.
Kyari revealed that at least 295 illegal connections were spotted on a 200km stretch of pipeline in one instance.
“Because of the very unfortunate acts of vandals along our major pipelines from Atlas Cove all the way to Ibadan, and all others connecting all the 37 depots that we have across the country, none of them can take delivery of products and the reason is very simple.
“For some of the lines, for instance, from Warri to Benin, we haven’t operated for 15 years. Every molecule of product that we put gets lost.”
