PUNCH NEWSPAPER

A member of the House of Representatives from Rivers State, Mr Farah Dagogo, has faulted Shell Petroleum Development Company for claiming  it is recording losses allegedly due to  the attacks on its facilities in  Niger Delta.

The lawmaker also accused the International Oil Companies doing their costing in dollars in disregard to the currency laws of the country in which they operate.

This, Dagogo, said undermines Nigeria’s economy which depends largely on oil revenue from Niger Delta.

Dagogo was reacting to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria attributed  to the SPDC Joint Venture as saying that it loses about N202m daily in revenue to criminals activities in  Niger Delta.

The SPDC’s General Manager, External Relations, Igo Weli, was quoted to have said this at a media workshop on Pipelines Right of Way, Encroachment and Vandalism in Port Harcourt.

Weli had said, “SPDC JV is currently losing about 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil or N202m lost daily from its pipelines to crude oil thieves in  Niger Delta. This is a reduction from the loss of around 11,000 bpd in 2018 and about 9,000 barrels per day of oil lost daily in 2017. These attacks were on critical assets that produce the crude oil, which accounts for over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and the bulk of government revenue.”

Dagogo, however, alleged that the claim by Shell was a ploy to further deplete the revenue the company ought to remit to the national coffers.

Dagogo, who represents Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency, particularly faulted Weli ,  who he said from  Niger Delta, for allegedly failing to defend the interest of the region.