Rivers State Sole Administrator Retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas has called for the effective prosecution of oil thieves in the country to curb economic sabotage crippling Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The Sole Administrator who made this declaration while hosting the Senate Committee on Incessant Crude Oil Theft, led by Senator Ned Nwoko, at the Government House, Port Harcourt stressed that weak punishment for offenders emboldens criminality and deprives the nation of critical revenue needed for development.
”Your presence here is both significant and timely. Crude oil theft strikes at the heart of Nigeria’s economic survival, undermining President Bola Tinubu’s reforms to boost oil production and fund national infrastructure,” he stated.
Retired Vice Admiral Ibas while commending the Committee for their effort, expressed confidence that their recommendations would strengthen Nigeria’s economic base.
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He further highlighted the State’s effort in reducing pipeline vandalism through Improved intelligence gathering, Inter-agency coordination, Structured engagements with Traditional Rulers and Community Stakeholders.
”As a major oil-producing state, we are committed to eliminating threats to production. Our goal is a secure, tech-driven monitoring framework to safeguard assets and boost output,” he said.
Giving his remarks, Leader of the delegation Senator Ned Nwoko affirmed the Committee’s resolve to identify and dismantle Crude Oil Theft networks, both onshore and offshore.
”We need Rivers State’s support to end this menace. Big-time thieves operate in international waters, and we must collaborate to secure Nigeria’s resources,” he said.
He added that the Committee was inaugurated three months ago and will submit actionable solutions to the National Assembly to sanitize the oil sector.
