Senate President Ahmad Lawan has warned that unless prompt action is taken, crude oil theft may stagnate the economy and drive it into a coma.

Lawan said this Tuesday in a speech to welcome senators back from the two-month recess.

He said, "The economy of our country is still challenged. The Senate working with the House of Representatives and the Executive needs to continually seek better responses to the economic situation.

"Generation and collection of revenues have remained major challenges. Also, the massive loss of revenue through oil theft is debilitating and threatening to throw the economy into a coma.

"Revelations about the scale of oil theft show that, until the government takes decisive actions, Nigeria could soon lose any revenue from that sector.

"We must therefore work to ensure that everything is done to curtail this theft", he said.