Bayelsa, navy agree to tackle illegal oil bunkering

Bayelsa State and the Nigerian Navy have agreed to tackle the growing menace of pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft which has had a negative effect on the national and local economy.

Governor Seriake Dickson told Dele Ezeoba, the chief of naval staff who paid him a courtesy visit in Government House, Yenagoa, that no assistance to security agencies was too much to combat the menace.

Dickson said his administration has been making huge investments in security with positive results, saying, “Bayelsa State has transited from being a constant national flashpoint to now being on the vanguard of stability and security within the past one year”.

The governor pointed out that the state was beset with illegal bunkering, crude oil theft and refining activities and expressed his determination of to fight the scourge.

He stressed the need to put to use 15 fast boats acquired by government and handed over to security agencies to aid their operations in the riverine parts of the state.

According to him, “The weakness and vulnerability that you have identified clearly comes from the creeks – waterways – because in the last one year, the measures we have taken are such that criminals find the upland areas and the state capital too hot for their comfort. And we have discovered the way they are operating. The hotter the city and environs become, they take refuge in the creeks that they know very well.

“This has been a recurring decimal in all our security council deliberations. So, we are delighted that the military has now come up with this renewed vigour arising from the charge that has been given by the president and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces to flush out those criminal elements.”

Dickson commended the Federal Government for the establishment of the Central Naval Command in Bayelsa State and assured the naval authorities of his administration’s readiness to partner with them to ensure the setting up of ancillary facilities such as schools, hospitals and recreational centres.

SAMUEL ESE, Yenagoa