GOVERNMENT officials in the US have provided

President Muhammadu Buhari with the names of

former Nigerian ministers who have enriched

themselves at the expense of the country by

selling crude oil illegally.

Nigeria is the world's largest source of illegal

crude oil which is stolen from wells in the Niger

Delta in a crime known as bunkering. This oil is

then transported via barges out of Nigeria and on

to the international market where it is sold for a

fraction of the international price.

During his visit to the US, President Buhari

revealed at as much as 250,000 barrels of oil a

day were being smuggles out of the Niger Delta

and sold illegally. This represents 10% of

Nigeria's 2.5m barrels of daily production and

has fuelled a thriving bunkering business well

managed by government officials and security

operatives.

One presidency source said: “I can tell you that

the president already has the list of names of the

people engaging in the stealing of Nigeria’s oil.

The list, when released by the president, will

shock Nigerians but let’s wait and see first.”

He added that President Buhari was taken aback

when he saw the names on the list and it might

compel him to probe the administration of former

President Goodluck Jonathan. According to the

source, the US gave Buhari two separate lists –

one containing the names of top government

officials who have been organising the racket and

the other containing the names of illegal oil

bunkerers.

According to the source, President Buhari has

vowed that those whose names appear on the

lists would not go scot-free. He added that the

president was already tinkering with the idea of

constituting a panel to investigate those on the

list with a view to arriving at how to deal with

them based on the findings of the committee.

Apparently, the names on the list of oil thieves

are a mixture of highly placed government

officials and retired and serving military officers.

Since assuming office, President Buhari has

promised to crack down on corruption and stop

the brazen kleptomania in public life that has

plagued Nigeria for decades.