President Bola Tinubu has directed all the heads of security agencies and intelligence agencies to crack down on those stealing crude oil in the Niger Delta region.
Naija News reports that the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, made this known on Tuesday while speaking with journalists after a closed-door meeting with the Defence Chief and other heads of security forces, held at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.
Kyari noted that oil theft and vandalism have become a national issue, stressing that achieving the desired economic stability in the country would be impossible without curbing oil theft and other crimes in the Niger Delta region.
He said, “We are here to engage with the CDS based on the directive of the President. The President had directed the CDS to take control of the crisis we are having in the Niger-Delta operational areas.
“Oil theft and pipeline vandalism have become a national issue, the President has directed the CDS to contain this within the shortest possible time so that we can restore national production to the level the President and the country is expecting.
“To do this, he needs the coordination and cooperation of all armed forces, the police, the DIA, the DSS among others. It is the survival of our country that is at stake today.
“Without restoring oil and gas production, we cannot have the economic stability that we desire. The President is clearly focused on this to deliver value to our country. It is impossible to do this without settling the crisis around our operational areas.
“We are already seeing progress, we are seeing substantial value that is being created by the coordination but we are very convinced that a solution is in sight.”
On his part, the Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, vowed to eliminate all acts of vandalism and other criminal activities throughout the South-South region.
Musa said they would adhere to Tinubu’s mandate to ensure they secure the entire South-South and enable NNPC and others to carry out their tasks.
He said, “The truth about it is that whatever is happening in the South-South has been ongoing for such a very long time. And we feel it is high time that it is stopped.
“What we are promising Nigerians is that henceforth, the entire South-South will be cleared of any acts of vandalism, criminality within the general area.
“Like we said, the President has given us a mandate to ensure that we secure the entire South-South and to enable NNPC and others carry out their tasks so that we can have improved production.
“We know that Nigeria relies so much on what we produce. And so we want to use this medium to appeal to the communities, to have an understanding.”
Similarly, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, assured that the security agency would take every step needed to curb oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta region.
He said, “We accept that we have challenges, but we must all come together to solve them. So, we need the cooperation of all agencies, we need the cooperation of the citizens.
“We need to take every step that we need to take to address all these issues. I am assuring you that in days ahead, you are going to see results.”
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