Professor Adeola Adenikinju, the President of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES), expressed concern over the insufficient investments in the country’s energy sector, attributing it to vandalism and oil theft.
The expert in Petroleum Economics warned that this situation poses a serious threat to the nation’s economy in the years to come.
Additionally, the professor, who specializes in petroleum economics at the University of Ibadan, lamented the adverse impact of reduced investment by international oil companies (IOCs) on the country’s economy.
The former director of the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL), UI, who stated these in an interview with journalists in Ibadan, disclosed that vandalism, oil theft and other challenges were hampering the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP).
The immediate past head of the department of economics at the premier university, said Nigeria was losing a lot of money, adding that from the last four quarters, the oil sector had been contributing negatively to Nigerian economic growth.
Adenikinju, who is a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria {CBN} said: ‘’You have to break the issue in the oil sector down. At the off-stream where you do production, until recently, there has been a lot of volatility.
“There was a time we were doing one million barrels per day because of security, pipeline vandalism, oil theft and so many challenges that were going on in the sector.’’
Source: Leadership
