Crude oil theft has been listed as one of the major causes of the sharp depreciation of the naira, and a contributor to the double-digit inflation Nigerians are experiencing at the moment. This is just as it has been observed that over N8 trillion that Nigeria lost to Oil theft exceeds the total tax revenue collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in 2021. This amounts to about a 500,000 BPD shortfall all of which can be attributed to oil theft directly & indirectly. “This is over 50per per cent of our external reserve or over N8 trillion which exceeds the total tax revenue collected by the FIRS + 36 states + FCT in 2021,” he observed. In a report titled “FIRS 2021 Performance Update,” the agency said the total revenue of N6.405 trillion in both oil (N2.008 trillion) and non-oil (N4.396 trillion) revenues surpassed its target of N6.401 trillion for the year.

Source: Nigerian Tribune September 01, 2022 17:56 UTC