Abuja, July 16, 2024 – President Bola Tinubu has directed Gen. Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, to curb oil theft and vandalism in the Niger Delta.
Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of NNPCL, disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday while briefing journalists on the outcome of a meeting of all security and intelligence chiefs at the Defence Headquarters.
Mele said the directive was imperative to check the menace and boost oil production.
.He said without curbing oil theft and other crimes in the Niger Delta region, it would be impossible achieve economic stability.
“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.
“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 are 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. “
Responding, the CDS promised that the military and other security agencies would eliminate all acts of vandalism and other criminal activities in the Niger Delta region.
“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, or criminality within the general area.
“Like we said, the President has given us the 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
“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, he said.
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