FG Assigns Theft of Crude Oil To A Worsening Employment Situation

The threat of crude oil theft has been linked by the federal government to the nation’s deteriorating unemployment rate.

This was said by Dr. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, on Friday in Abuja as he opened the 8th Meeting of the National Employment Council.

The head of press and public relations, Mr. Olajide Oshundun, cited the minister as having said this in

Ngige, the council’s chairman, said that oil theft had turned Nigeria into a destitute country that relied on begging for existence.

He claims that this problem has impeded the federal government’s attempts to provide employment for the nation’s burgeoning young population.

“I know that you folks are aware that our country is going through a very trying time right now. Worldwide, there are economic issues, but in Nigeria, we created our own. Oil is our major source of income.

But there are two things going on in the oil industry. Nigeria, for one, is not producing enough. Our daily output limit for OPEC was 2.2 million barrels. To 1.8 million barrels it decreased.

“At this point, we are unable to even generate the 1.8 million barrels. They informed us that some individuals are stealing our crude oil, and we are now producing roughly 1.1 million barrels per day.

“This is a really severe issue because it has turned us into extremely haughty people. In order to survive, we have become a beggarly country,” he said.

The country cannot continue in that direction, he said, since it has impeded attempts to provide work for our teeming young people.