The Nigerian Army has called on the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) to intervene in the issue of illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region of the country.
The call was made by the General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Maj Gen O. O. Oluyede, when he received the PAP’s Interim Administrator, Col Milland Dixon Dikio (retd.), in his office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Thursday.
Oluyede said some of the perpetrators of the illegal business were ex-agitators, who were ignorant of the harm they were causing to the region’s environment.
He said the Army was ready to collaborate with the PAP and other relevant agencies of government to bring an end to the environmental menace bedevilling the region.
Speaking further, the GOC commended Dikio for making the PAP a successful platform to maintain peace in the region.
On his part, Dikio promised to intensify awareness of the dangers of illegal oil bunkering, saying it constituted a health hazard to the people.
He urged persons involved in illegal bunkering to redirect their energy into the palm oil production, stating that it is lucartive.
According to him, “We are creating more awareness on the issue. Recently, some of our delegates, ex-agitators, held a sensitisation workshop here in Port Harcourt as part of our efforts to end illegal oil bunkering.
“Let me state that anyone involved in ‘kpofire’ is like a murderer. They have made the atmosphere in and around Port Harcourt a health hazard. That is how bad it is.
“Rather than engage in kpofire business which endangers the health of the people in the region and in addition destroy our environment and ecosystem, it is better to go into palm oil production.
“That is a very lucrative business. A ton of palm oil currently above $5,000 which is a lot more than a ton of crude oil can fetch.”
