FG vows to end illegal oil bunkering, refineries through massive job creation
Worried by the destructive economic and environmental effects of illegal oil bunkering and refineries operating in the Niger-Delta region, the Federal Government has vowed to put an end to these illegal activities that endanger the nation’s economy.
Speaking at the groundbreaking of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) ship and dock yards as well as flag-off of the first Nigeria Maritime University in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State at the weekend, President Goodluck Jonathan said some ‘big people’ were involved in the bunkering, adding that as Bayelsa State deputy governor he had tried to arrest the situation without success.
“We have been totally committed to reducing the rate of illegal bunkering and operation of illegal crude refineries, but it has been difficult. Therefore, we plead with Nigerians who are involved in the illegal bunkering business to desist from it. For our people who are used by the so-called ‘external-internal big boys’ to damage our environment, you must leave that business. Government must stop it and we are working very hard to stop it,” the president said.
He said that moving across the Niger-Delta, one could see the level of devastation caused by the operations of illegal refineries that are situated in the forest. This group of people, according to him, were destroying the coastal environment to the level that Nigeria cannot recover in the next 200 years. They created poverty for the unborn generation because of the little money they would get at present, he added.
“No society can grow if it does not plan for the children and grandchildren. The act of illegal bunkering is a disservice to both the present and future generation, who would be forced to live without having environment to explore and to convert to means of exchange. We must collectively say no to both illegal bunkering and illegal crude refineries, where criminals boil the crude oil, take about 20 percent and dispose the remaining 80 percent to devastate the environment,” the president said.
He further disclosed that his administration was also perfecting plans with both Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom State governments to build Agie and Ibaka deep seaports, adding, “The Federal Government is also partnering with the governor of Delta State for the building of the proposed petrochemical complex in Ogidingbe, and the complex is going to be the biggest in Nigeria.”
The listed projects, according to President Jonathan, were those that would create employment for both male and female unemployed youths in the country. “This is because if government works with the private sector to create jobs for Nigerians, the number of people that would be recruited by the criminals into their gangs would reduce and government would be able to isolate the criminals and deal with them accordingly,” he said.
He therefore urged Nigerians, especially Niger-Delta youths, to key into NIMASA’s training programme as well the government’s Amnesty Programme to improve on their skills so as to be qualified to work in any part of the world, adding that maritime and oil businesses were global businesses that provided employment opportunities to well-trained and talented youths anywhere in the world.
President Jonathan noted that the Federal Government was emphasising on areas of skill acquisition because “we want to work with the private sector to create jobs for our people”. He said the maritime sector was improving significantly and the establishment of the maritime university would help in development of manpower for the industry. “It will also help in producing the required manpower for the blue economy, which is the concept of developmental sciences,” he said.
According to the president, the maritime university would be the second specialised university that has been established by the current administration.
“We established 12 conventional universities – three for the three South states that did not have federal universities and nine for the nine states of the North that did not have federal universities – and we also made the former Police Academy in Kano a degree-awarding institution, and today marks the groundbreaking of a maritime university in the Niger-Delta,” he said.
Earlier in his presentation, Idris Umar, minister of transport, described the projects executed by the Goodluck Jonathan administration as those that would transform Nigeria into a major economy in sub-Saharan Africa. Urging the contractors to ensure the completion of the university in line with the international best practices as stipulated by International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Umar said that building the maritime university and shipyard underscored the commitment of Mr. President to the development of the maritime industry. He said the university would help the nation in developing needed manpower for onward job creation. Patrick Akpobolokemi, director general, NIMASA, who confirmed that establishment of the university would build manpower for the sector, noted that the project was in line with the presidential mandate to fast-track the development of the maritime sector.
“The maritime university is a strategic response to bridge the long gap in manpower supply. The institution would be focusing on training of marine engineers, master mariners and nautical scientists, among others,” he said. The shipyard, Akpobolokemi said, would help Nigeria in building shipping capacity for the implementation of Cabotage regime so that Nigerians could benefit from the nation’s shipping business.
Uzoamaka Anagor