BY BEN AGANDE
ABUJA—The House of Representatives, Tuesday, mandated its committees on Petroleum Resources, Upstream, and Navy to conduct an investigative hearing on the continuing stealing of the nation’s crude oil through illegal bunkering with a view to unmasking the perpetrators of the crime.

In a motion, titled: “Unprecedented upsurge of illegal oil bunkering activities in the Nigerian coastal region” sponsored by Daniel Reyeneiju (PDP, Delta State), the lawmaker said the daily vandalisation of oil pipelines and other facilities and general state of insecurity in the country, occasioned by the activities of the illegal bunkerers, posed a serious threat to the nation’s economy.

He said, between 150,000 and 200,000 thousand barrels of crude oil are being lost on a daily basis, which cost the country millions of dollars in lost revenue.

Expressing worry that a  number of vessels currently sailing the Nigerian waterways were involved in illegal bunkering, Reyeneiju noted that the activities of the bunkerers not only affected the  oil facilities, but also caused environmental degradation, with its attendant effect on the ecosystem of the areas.

He said:“International oil company [IOC] exploration and exploitation activities at Imo Rivers field straddles Abia and Rivers states is being forced to shut down its activities completely because of the apprehension and encroachment of bunkerers into their oil activities which has five flow stations, a gas compressor station and several kilometres of pipelines.”

Reyeneiju noted that the prevalence of ailments such as cancer was as a result of spillage, adding that the proliferation of small arms through the vessels, in exchange for oil, would further pose security challenges to the country.

He warned that “if these activities are not arrested, the development may snowball and become difficult to contain.”

In his contribution , the Minority Whip, Mr. Samson Osagie, said the activities of illegal bunkerers were an embarrassment to the country’s national security.

He said: “Illegal oil activities taking place and oil being fritted away portends great danger and serious threat to the country’s national security. And, the fact that oil is being frittered away and the government appears helpless is a threat to our national existence.

“As the sixth largest oil producing nation by OPEC rating, we have a duty to proffer solution to the illegal bunkering activities,” he said.

The  committees are  to conclude their investigations and submit their recommendations to the House within eight weeks.

Andrew Uchendu blamed prominent citizens of being involved in the illegal activities saying that the failure of the Nigerian Navy to effectively police the coastal region owing to logistics problems has further given these criminals easy operational areas.

“Oil bunkering is done in the high seas and the Nigerian Navy does not have the capacity to check the activities and the bunkerers have a field day. Majority of the people involved in the business are high profile individuals that we respect in the society,” he said.