Protesting members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) yesterday threatened to shut down oil production in Nigeria for 30 days if the Federal Government fails to curb the lingering massive oil theft in the Niger Delta.

The union, which staged a nationwide street rally in Abuja, Kaduna, Lagos, Warri, to protest the impact of crude oil theft, decried high level ‘collusion and connivance’ involved in the crime, which has left Nigeria broke and borrowing heavily to finance its appropriations at a time that oil prices have remained consistently high in the international market.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, charged the government to hold those whose responsibility is to protect oil pipelines to account.

Also speaking at the sensitisation rally that was held at the Delta State Governor’s Office Annexe in Warri, the PENGASSAN Zonal Chairman, Prince Audu Osihiokhamele, noted with concern that “the big men doing the business of crude oil theft are in government.”

He said Nigeria is losing over 600,000 barrels of crude oil or over 25.8 billion naira daily to theft and pipeline vandalism and this is costing the nation dearly.

Osihiokhamele added that the OPEC quota for Nigeria today is above 1.8 million barrels of crude oil per day but we struggle to produce just over a million because majority of this crude oil are stolen.

Should the workers implement their threat of 30 days shut down of oil installation, Nigeria might lose about 1.37 trillion naira from the non-production and sale of crude oil, a major foreign exchange revenue earner for the country.