Indications have emerged that despite the huge revenue earnings from crude oil production in the country, Nigeria still loses $2.5 billion annually to gas flaring.

This was made known by Chairman of the Gas Monitoring Committee of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Emmanuel Nsa, in Uyo during a courtesy call on Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, saying that it is a sad and painful loss.

He lamented that while the country is in dire need of whatever resources it could muster at a time like this so much money, which could have been better used in both industrial and domestic ways was wasted.

Gas, he said, is in high demand globally and Nigeria cannot afford to lose more money through unchecked process of gas flaring, explaining that the visit of the committee to the state was to create a rapport with the state government for the purpose of ensuring computing of actual revenues accruable to the state and others.

Akpabio, who expressed happiness that the committee was in the state to see things itself and gather data that would assist it in its work, called on the Federal Government to impose stiffer sanctions on oil companies that continue to flare gas against the stand of government on the issue.

Also, issue of boundary conflict between Akwa Ibom and Rivers states was also discussed by the governor, adding that the issue should be allowed to remain as resolved so as to prevent conflict between the states.