Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Mr Heineken Lokpobiri, has expressed appreciation to the management of Tantita Security Services Limited for their efforts in pipeline protection in the Niger Delta region.
The Minister gave this commendation on Saturday while fielding questions from reporters during his tour of oil facilities in the Niger Delta.
Mr Lokpobiri, who was accompanied on the tour by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr Mele Kyari, among other government officials, said the President Bola Tinubu-led administration is determined to stop all forms of pipeline vandalism and oil theft in the country.
“We’re here because of the problem of pipeline vandalisation and illegal bunkering that is going on in the Niger Delta.
“I believe that it has become an existential problem, and we need to fight them. We need to fight these criminals to submission.
“What is happening here is so bad that we cannot even know the implications unless maybe when people start dying in their numbers, that is when people will know that a few persons were profiting from this crime are here to wipe all of them out.
“So, as a responsible government, we have decided that we are going to put a stop to it.
“We are going to work with stakeholders to ensure that we stop all this nonsense in our society. We are not going to allow them.
“I want to also use the opportunity to express our gratitude to Tantita that the NNPCL had commissioned to be able to do some work, but we are going to do a lot more.”
On his part, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr Nuhu Ribadu, said the federal government would sustain its partnership with Tantita Security Services Limited to curb the crime of pipeline vandalism and oil theft in the Niger Delta.
He added that the central government would soon take additional measures to ensure that things change for the better in pipeline security.
“We have done very well to get to where we are now. We are certainly going to take more measures. So far, things are beginning to change. Give us a little time, and you will see things change for the better,” Mr Ribadu said.
