Nigeria loses 60 per cent revenue to pipeline vandals-VP Osibajo

Vice President Yemi Osibajo, on Sunday, said that the persistent vandalisation of oil pipelines by suspected militants in the Niger Delta region had wrecked the country’s economy, resulting in the loss of 60 percent of the nation’s revenue.
Vice President Osibajo added that Nigeria also loses about 40 percent of its revenue to gas flaring, a development he said had brought the country to her current state of economic recession .
Osibajo disclosed this while responding to questions from newsmen at a public function in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
He said, “One of the key reasons why we are in recession is the fact that we lost about 60% of our revenue due to the vandalisation of the pipelines in the Niger Delta and we lost almost 40% of the gas”.
The Vice President, however, assured Nigerians that the Federal Government was doing everything possible to revive the nation’s economy to shore up its revenue to the advantage of the country .
”I have strong belief that by the grace of God, we will be able to resolve that. Once we are able to resolve that, we would at least be able to earn more revenue. If revenue grows up, it is an added advantage,” he said.
According to him, the decision to diversify the economy from oil to Agriculture and Solid minerals was part of the efforts by the government to save the country from its current economy hardship with a view to increasing its revenue rate.