The recent discovery by the Senate’s ad-hoc committee investigating crude oil theft in the Niger Delta that about N300 billion crude oil proceeds were unaccounted for has been generating reactions from Nigerians.
The committee’s interim report to the Senate detailed massive discrepancies, weak oversight mechanisms and systemic lapses that have enabled large-scale diversion of Nigeria’s crude oil revenue.
A forensic review of domestic crude proceeds and tax oil proceeds records, according to the report, revealed crude oil sale’s differentials, mismatches and unaccounted funds, amounting to about $22 billion.
It further found a shortfall of $81 billion between receipts declared by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and those recorded by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for 2016 and 2017.
The committee also said its review of crude oil sales from 2015 to date, supported by investigations from international consultants projected that over $200 billion proceeds from the crude oil sales remained unaccounted for globally.