Godfrey AKON
The Federal Government has warned that crude oil thieves, pipeline vandals and illegal refiners have their days numbered as it would no longer condone any form of criminality on the nation’s oil and gas facilities and installations.
The warning was issued by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva; Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor and the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, during an on-the-spot- assessment of some pipelines damaged by pipeline vandals in some areas and communities of Rivers State, on Wednesday.
A statement by the Spokesperson of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC, Mr Garba Deen Mohammed, said at Ibaa Community in Emeoha Local Government of Rivers State, where the delegation witnessed an illegal refinery burnt down by the military, Sylva said apart from causing huge losses to the country, the criminals were also destroying the livelihood of locals and the environment.
To solve the problem, Sylva said “the community must be involved, the security arm must be involved and the third arm which is the operating publics must also be involved. I want to let everybody know that these criminals have their days numbered because the country has lost so much from their activities.”
Also speaking, the Chief of Defence Staff, Irabor, said in carrying out the president’s directives to contain losses from these criminalities, the military will deploy a different strategy and a new drive by pursuing not only the criminals, but also their sponsors.
