The Nigerian Navy has said the joint efforts of its officers and naval-adjacent security agencies in religiously pursuing cases of oil theft in the Niger Delta region led to the recent upshoot in oil production in the country.
Commodore Desmond Igbo, Commander of NNS Pathfinder, made this statement while speaking with journalists at the end of the officers’ second quarter route match, held over the weekend in Port Harcourt.
Speaking at the route match, Igbo explained that the essence was to keep the officers fit, sharp, and ready to go at a moment’s notice, applauding the men of the ‘NNS Pathfinder’ for their commitment to the exercise.
Igbo who disclosed that the march happens just four times a year, said: “This exercise we did in the first quarter in March this year. This is the second quarter.
“In the military, as you know, fitness is paramount. So the Nigerian Navy finds it very essential that our officers and men go on road marches which is a form of exercise.
“Behind me are our men, we went almost 12 kilometers and all of us came back complete, nobody dropped on the way. That shows you how fit we are to carry out our duties, especially the anti-bunkering duties”.
He noted the need for security officers to always be ready to tackle all forms of criminality in the country.
He said: “We must prevent the enemies of the Nation from stealing our crude oil and with God’s help and in pursuing the mandate of the Chief of Naval Staf, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, we have reduced the incidents of oil theft in the Niger Delta.
“We have reduced incidents of oil theft by 90% and we are ready to reduce the incidences of oil in the Niger Delta to 100%. “Oil production has increased. When we came in it was about 1.1 million bpd and now we are talking about close to 1.7 million bpd. This we achieved through joint efforts with other security agencies”.
He, however, charged officers and men of NNS Pathfinder to continue to keep ready and fit, stressing that when they are fit they will be able to discharge their duties effectively. Igbo added: “My men have not been found wanting in oil theft, if they do, we will deal with them decisively and we have told them and they have refrained from compromise of all forms.
“That is the charge the Chief of Naval Staff gave us, he will not tolerate compromise and we have pushed it down to the lowest ranked personnel, especially in this NNS Pathfinder, Port Harcourt. None of them will be involved in all forms of criminality, they are aware of it and cannot do it under my watch,” Igbo assured
