President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has instructed the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, to address the issue of crude oil theft and vandalism in the Niger Delta with urgency.
This directive aims to enhance oil production and revenue for the country, as oil theft has become a critical national concern.
The Group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, conveyed this development in an interview with journalists at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.
The interview followed a meeting of security and intelligence agency heads convened by the CDS.
Kyari emphasized the necessity of curbing oil theft to achieve economic stability, stating, “We are here to engage with the CDS based on the directive of the president. The president has directed the CDS to take control of the crisis we are having in the Niger Delta operational area.”
He further elaborated, “Oil theft and pipeline vandalism have become a national issue. The president has directed the CDS to contend with this within the shortest possible time so that we can restore national production to the level the president and the country are expecting.”
Highlighting the need for coordinated efforts, Kyari noted, “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.”
He added, “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.”
Musa, pledged to eradicate vandalism and criminal activities in the South-South region, stating, “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.”
He assured Nigerians, “What we are promising Nigerians is that henceforth, the entire South-South will be cleared of any acts of vandalism, or criminality within the general area. The President has given us a mandate to ensure that we secure the entire South-South and to enable NNPC and others to carry out their tasks so that we can have improved production.”
Musa appealed to the host communities for trust and support, emphasizing the collective effort needed, “Yes, we know trust has been a problem. But they can trust us, they can trust the government, that we want to do things differently. Everyone will be carried along. Everyone has a role to play. It is not only for the security agencies alone. We need the communities to understand that pipeline vandalism and all the hazards being caused are also affecting them directly. And we need to stop that.”
He promised visible results from the harmonized security operations within the next two to three months, stating, “We need to work together. And this meeting we had today is to harmonize that based on the mandates that the President has given us. We’re going to work together as a team. All the operations will be harmonized. Coming on that, the Joint Task Force, with the land components of all the other agencies, and we’re going to work and bring results. And I can assure you within the next shortest possible time, two, three months, you will see results coming in.”
Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun also assured of comprehensive measures to combat oil theft and pipeline vandalism, saying, “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 the days ahead, you are going to see results.”
