President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given marching orders to the Chief of Defence Staff(CDS), General Christopher Musa to curb the menace of crude oil theft and vandalism in the Niger Delta region of the country in the shortest possible time.
Tinubu, said the order had become necessary as oil theft had become a national issue that needed to be surmounted to boost oil production in the country.
The Group Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited(NNPCL), Mele Kyari, made this known in an interview with journalists at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, after a meeting of all security and intelligence agency heads convened by the Chief of Defence Staff.
Kyari, while noting that achieving the desired economic stability would be impossible without curbing oil theft and other crimes in the Niger Delta region, said, “We are here to engage with the CDS based on the directive of the president.
He said “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 contend 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.
Peoplesmind