[b]
new master plan by the Federal Government aimed at ensuring accurate metering and accountability in the country’s oil and gas export is creating disquiet in the petroleum sector.

It was authoritatively learnt on Friday that the policy, which would require the stationing of Weights and Measures Department at platforms of oil majors to ensure accurate production and export statistics, is at the behest of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The president reportedly directed the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, in letter in August to ensure that the plan was implemented in less than no time.

A Sunday Punch investigation showed that Jonathan had told the minister that it was embarrassing that after more than 50 years of oil production, the country did not have reliable records of oil export.

Following Jonathan’s directive, Aganga held a meeting with oil companies in his office in August.

But it was gathered that many of the companies complained about the cost implication of having additional government agency on their platforms for the purpose of measuring production, and export, as the Department of Petroleum Resources was already doing so.

However, the minister argued that the DPR as a regulator was not empowered by law to discharge that responsibility.

“How will Weight and Measures being at the oil platforms result in more costs?” Aganga reportedly asked.

But the oil majors stressed that it would involve spending more on security, among other things.

Determined to implement the President’s directive, the minister on September 17, 2012, visited the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas in Rivers State and held a meeting with its officials.

Aganga was accompanied by the Director, Weights and Measures Department, Mr. Oluyinka Sijuade.

The actual quantity of oil produced and sold has been a subject of controversy in the country for many years.

Sijuade confirmed to Sunday Punch in Abuja on Friday that Weights and Measures had written to the oil companies, but declined to give further details. Instead, he spoke elaborately on the work of his agency.

On the issue in question, he tersely said, “We have written them and they are responding.”

A senior presidency official, who has seen the reply of some of the oil firms, says their position seems to be that they have a common stance.

“The reply to the letter written by the ministry suggests that they have taken the same position. They only wrote to say that they have seen the letter and are considering the contents of the letter.

“The oil companies are trying to buy time. However, they don’t have any option but to comply. The issue of measuring is very important,” he said. But when contacted, the Manager, External Communications of Total Plc, Mr. Charles Ebereonwu, denied any knowledge of the issue. He said, “I am not aware of this alleged development. In my opinior however, no oil company let alone Total, will operate above the law of the nation.”

Besides striving to stamp the authority of Weights and Measures in oil export recording, government agencies in the Niger Delta have decried the increasing level of illegal oil bunkering.[/b]

The Joint Task Force and Navy, which spoke to our correspondents in Bayelsa and Rivers states, attributed the surge to lack of diligent prosecution of suspects by the police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Nigerian Security Civil and Defence Corps.

The suspects included foreign nationals and Nigerians arrested with oil vessels.

According to the Media Coordinator, JTF, Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, the task force had recorded successes in combating oil theft, but the problem has continued because of loopholes in the law.

Nwachukwu regretted that suspects handed over to prosecuting agencies had a way of regaining their freedom and returning to the creeks to resume their illegal activities.

He said, “When we arrest the suspects, we carry out preliminary investigations to be certain that the suspects are actually involved in acts of criminality. Once it is certain, we transfer the suspects to the prosecuting agencies since we don’t have the fiat for prosecution.

“We are recording success in our operational outfit, considering the fact that on daily basis we carry out maritime patrols where we track down those engaged in illegal bunkering, scuttling the vessels, barges and destroying illegal refineries.”

Nwachukwu referred one of our correspondents to the police, the EFCC the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps for further enquiries.

A JTF record showed that 1,653 suspected oil thieves had been arrested in 7,585 illegal oil bunkering patrols it conducted since January.

Its operatives also destroyed 3,778 illegal refineries, 120 barges and 878 Cotonou boats within the last three quarters.

The JTF during its patrols razed 161 suspected tankers, 178 fuel dumps, 5238 surface tanks and 30, 768 drums of illegal products.

Also, within the period, it was gathered that the operatives destroyed 606 pumping machines, 626 outboard engines and eight vessels.

Further investigations revealed that activities of oil thieves thrived in Bayelsa State at Nembe, Eweleso, Akasa, Brass, Azagbene, Igbamatoru, Opuama, Diebu, and Akaar Creek.

In Delta State, the notorious places are Sapele, Ughelli, Oghara and Gbagbero communities, while Bonny, Ahoada, Gokana, Borokiri, waterside Andoni general area, Bodo, K-dere, B-Dere, Okirika, Ogoni, Bille and Krakrama and Mbiama in Rivers State, are hotbeds.

The Commanding Officer of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS Pathfinder), Port Harcourt, Commodore Oyetunji Fadeyi, expressed the need for special court to try oil thieves.

Fadeyi explained that such courts would be a solution to the delay in trying suspected illegal bunkerers and pipeline vandals.

The naval commanding officer, who attributed the delay in trying suspected oil thieves in the Niger Delta to the country’s slow justice system, said special marine courts would try oil thieves without the usual delay in regular courts.

The commanding officer told SUNDAY PUNCH, “We need special courts for suspected illegal bunkerers. We have a long coast. Nigeria is a maritime nation. When we arrest, we hand over. Even the EFCC or the police will ask our officers to write statement for prosecution in the court.

“Then what happens after, we don’t know. Our own is just to go there (waterways) and bring the criminals for justice.

“As I said, our justice system is either slow or is not performing. When a case takes too long, it becomes justice delayed, which is justice denied. That is what is happening.”

Fadeyi disclosed that his men had handed over 200 suspected oil thieves to the EFCC and police within the past eleven months.

)ne of the suspects he said attempted to bribe JTF operatives with N10m and was arrested with $30,000 part of the bribe money.

But the EFCC spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said the JTF’s claim of delayed prosecution on its part was not true.

He said, “The commission has no issue with the prosecution of oil theft cases. It has not lost any of such matters in court.

“We have recorded over 10 convictions in bunkering-related cases in the first half of this year.

“More than 36 others were arraigned within the period; this is just what we have done in six months and that should give you an idea of the commission’s record in nine years.”

The Chairman, Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, Mr. Ledum Mitee, had last week said between 1999 and 2008, Nigeria lost $2.6bn to leakages in the system.

http://www.punchng.com/business/nigeria-is-winning-war-against-corruption-jonathan/

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