Navy saves Nigeria N420b, earns N205.9m IGR
BY PHILIP NWOSU
The Nigerian Navy said it confiscated crude oil and diesel worth N420 billion in 2016 from suspected crude oil thieves and saboteurs in the country’s oil producing region
The Chief of the Naval Staff, (CNS) Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas who made the revelation while presenting the Navy’s operational scorecard for 2016 to members of the House of Representatives noted that the specific quantity of crude oil and diesel seized, stood at 810,725 and 1,078 metric tons respectively.
The Navy chief revealed that the force destroyed 181 illegal refineries, 263 wooden boats, 38 barges, 139 tanks, 148 pumping machines in 2016.
He said that 784 suspects were arrested while 22 crude vessels, 53 wooden boats, 145 outboard engines, 135 speed boats, 27 tankers, 2,974 drums were seized from the crude oil suspected thieves.
Admiral Ibas further revealed that the force recovered 468 weapons and 1,659 ammunitions from the suspected economic saboteurs in the year in review.
A statement from the force’s spokesman, Navy Captain Suleiman Dahun explained further that the Chief of Naval Staff told the legislators that the force confiscated 210 storage tanks, 47 vehicles, 15 motorcycles, 4,753 jerrycans, 27 power generating sets, 224 surface tanks, 24 hoses, 17 welding machines and 33 other vessels, reiterating that the feat was despite the reduction in overhead with only N2.5bn released out of about N3.4bn appropriated in 2016.
The statement quoted Admiral Ibas as saying that out of the N56.463 billion appropriated for personnel cost in 2016, N49.656bn was released, while the sum of N205.879 million was generated as Internally Generated Revenue and remitted to government via the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
As for 2017, he said the Nigerian Navy plans to expend about N26.446 billion on capital projects with the priority areas listed as fleet renewal, operational infrastructure upgrade, operational logistics procurement, capacity development and personnel welfare.
Earlier, the chairman House Committee on Navy Honourable Abdulsamad Dasuki commended the Nigerian Navy for performing credibly well, despite insufficient funding and other operational challenges, promising that the committee would ensure adequate allocation of fund for the maintenance and fuelling of Nigerian Navy platforms. The Chairman however, observed that an estimated N3trillion ($10bn) was lost in revenue due to Nigerian Navy’s inability to carry out statutory duties, reiterating that the Navy’s budgetary allocations must be realistic.