Nigeria lost about 600 million barrels of crude oil valued at $46 billion to crude oil theft between 2009 and 2020.

Dr Orji Ogbonaya Orji, the Executive Secretary in Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), said this in Abuja on Tuesday while addressing stakeholders at the review and approval of NEITI 2021 audit reports.

He attributed the losses to theft and sabotage which made the country to be losing over 140,000 barrels of crude valued at over ten million dollars daily.

“Furthermore, NEITI has reported on subsidy payments from the years 2005 to 2021 and its huge negative consequences to the nation,

”Nigeria has spent $14.39 billion which translates to thirteen point seven trillion naira.

“By these figures, Nigeria expended an average of eight hundred and five billion naira annually, sixty-seven billion monthly and two point two billion naira on daily basis.”

On the 2020-2021 unaudited reports, Orji said the reports would cover 69 companies, 12 government agencies and one state owned enterprise for the oil and gas, while 1214 companies with three government agencies were covered in the solid minerals sector.

He said NEITI had conducted 13 reports in the oil and gas sector and 11 cycles in the solid minerals sector.