President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given marching order to the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, General Christopher Musa, to curb the menace of crude oil theft and vandalism in the Niger Delta in the shortest possible time.
He said the directive became necessary as oil theft had become a national issue that needed to be surmounted to boost oil production and revenue generation in the country.
The Group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mr Mele Kyari, disclosed this in an interview with journalists at Defence Headquarters, Abuja, after a meeting of all security and intelligence agency heads convened by the chief of defence staff.
Kyari said achieving the desired economic stability would be impossible without curbing oil theft and other crimes in the Niger Delta.
He said: “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 contend this within the shortest possible time, so 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 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.”
On his part, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, vowed to eliminate all acts of vandalism and other criminal activities throughout the South-South.