The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has urged Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Rivers State Command, to ensure maximum usage of the armoured gunboats provided by the federal government to end oil theft in the state.
Aregbesola who stated this while commissioning eight newly acquired gunboats, locally built by an indigenous boat builder, Epenal Group of Companies in Port Harcourt, said it has become pertinent to tackle the menace of pipeline destruction and crude oil theft which has caused huge revenue loss amounting to billions of naira.
According to the minister, pipeline criminal activities pulls an existential threat to the oil and gas sector, as the continuous pipeline breakage causes crude reduction and eventually leads to scarcity of petroleum products.
“The move became necessary, to strengthen the combative capacity of NSCDC Anti Vandalism Squad, in stemming the tide of huge revenue loss to the Federal Government in the oil sector.
“The Country in recent past had recorded various occurrences of crude oil theft and reports, has shown that the country loses millions of dollars daily such that of the 141 million barrels of oil produced, in the 1st quarter of the year 2022, only 132 million barrels of oil were received, at export terminals; the aftermath results further reveal that over 9 million barrels of oil were lost to crude oil theft.”
He called on all security agencies to shun inter-agency rivalries and synergize, by supporting the fight against oil theft, in order to salvage and rid the nation’s economy of saboteurs.
The minister further maintained that the NSCDC as the lead agency, in safeguarding critical national assets and infrastructure is mandated, to use the available logistics provided by the government to reduce the crime rate and by extension take the war against crude oil theft to the camp of the enemies.
Also, Commandant General of the NSCDC, Ahmed Abubakar Audi, assured the Federal Government, and the good people of Rivers state that the Corps is determined and fully committed to the war against oil theft/illegal oil bunkering and therefore will make judicious use of the operational equipment to combat bunkering activities.
“The eight newly commissioned gunboats will boost the morale of the Corps, in combating the menace of crude oil theft along the waterways.
“The NSCDC is generally expected to effectively, safeguard Critical Infrastructure and oil installations, which are very central and vital, to the socio-economic development of the nation.
“The Corps is saddled with the mandate, to guard against oil theft and illegal oil bunkering through the provision of physical security to oil pipelines against vandalism.
“Therefore, any threat to the oil and gas sector is automatically, considered as a high-security concern owing to the debilitating effects it has on national development.
“It also constitutes environmental degradation, pollution, destruction of land and aquatic life, loss of means of livelihood and drastic reduction, in the inflow of foreign exchange needed to bolster the economy of the nation”.
He affirmed that a marching order has been issued to all Zonal Commanders, State Commandants and Heads of Anti-vandal Unit, across formations to be battle ready with a renewed vigour to stamp out oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the nation.
He enjoined Nigerians to assist security agencies, in winning the war against the enemies of the nation by volunteering credible Intelligence and Information that could lead to the possible arrest and prosecution of oil pipeline vandals and saboteurs of the nation’s economy.
On his part, the Managing Director, Epenal Group of Companies Nigeria Limited, Numo Lele Aaron, said the company have been in boat building for two decades, while commending the government for not procuring the boats abroad, but deemed it fit to patronize local indigenous company which also created job opportunities for Nigerians.
