Nigerian businessman Tony Elumelu has called on the government led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu and security agencies to identify those responsible for stealing the country’s crude oil, particularly those using vessels that navigate through Nigeria’s territorial waters.
In an interview published by the Financial Times on Friday, Elumelu, who has expressed deep concern about oil theft, noted that this issue has significantly contributed to the withdrawal of international oil companies from Nigeria.
He shared that he personally witnessed the reasons behind these divestments when criminal gangs started siphoning crude oil from his pipelines.
In 2022, when things got to a point where his company had to shut down production, Elumelu took to social media, tweeting: “How can we be losing over 95 per cent of oil production to thieves? Look at the Bonny Terminal which should be receiving over 200,000 barrels of crude oil daily, instead, it receives less than 3,000 barrels, leading the operator Shell to declare force majeure. The reason Nigeria is unable to meet its OPEC production quota is not because of low investment but because of theft, pure and simple!
“Meanwhile, oil-producing countries are smiling as their foreign reserve is rising. What is Nigeria’s problem? We need to hold our leaders more accountable!”
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In an interview with the Financial Times, Elumelu conveyed optimism but noted that oil thieves still siphon off 18 percent of the crude from his field.
“42,000 barrels of crude pumped out daily. Theft still takes away about 18 per cent of production, he stated.
Asked who is behind the theft, he replied, “This is oil theft, we’re not talking about stealing a bottle of Coke you can put in your pocket. The government should know, they should tell us. Look at America — Donald Trump was shot at and quickly they knew the background of who shot him. Our security agencies should tell us who is stealing our oil. You bring vessels to our territorial waters and we don’t know?”
The 61-year-old founder of Heirs Holdings recounted how the previous administration under President Muhammadu Buhari allegedly blocked him from acquiring an oilfield.
He revealed that since 2017, Heirs Holdings had been seeking to purchase the oilfield, having already raised $2.5 billion for a separate acquisition.
However, in a surprising turn of events, he claimed that former President Buhari, along with his late Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, intervened to prevent the deal from going through.
Elumelu was reportedly informed that Nigeria could not permit something of such strategic importance to be controlled by a private entity.
“This defied logic,” he remarked, noting that the oilfield was being purchased from a foreign company. As one of the few Nigerians who built their wealth outside the oil industry, Elumelu explained that his decision to acquire a 45 percent stake in the oilfield three years ago—at a time when international oil companies like Shell, Total, and Eni were divesting from their shallow water assets in Nigeria—was driven by a desire to enhance the country’s energy security amid a period of low power supply.
“We wanted to become a Fortune 500 company and we estimated what we needed. It’s not naira, it’s huge dollars. Energy security is crucial for a country that doesn’t produce enough electricity for its roughly 200 million citizens,” he added.
Speaking on the japa syndrome, Elumelu declared, “I support it, totally. “I don’t have a problem with people saying ‘I’m going to Canada, UK or US.’
“Joblessness is the betrayal of a generation. You’ve gone to school and come back with your dreams and aspirations and you don’t have the opportunity . For people who decide to find solutions elsewhere, no one should stop them. But for those who decide to stay, they should try to create an impact and build a legacy.”
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