There’ll Be No End To Oil Theft If Military Is Involved – Diri

• The Defence Headquarters Joint Monitoring Team to curb the menace of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism

Senator Douye Diri, the governor of Bayelsa State, has expressed surprise at reports of the military’s involvement in oil theft in the Niger Delta.

Diri, who received the joint monitoring team, led by Major General Jamil Jimoh, on a courtesy visit to Government House in Yenagoa on Monday, expressed sadness at the accusation levelled against the military.

He stated that there would be no end to oil theft and sabotage in the region if security forces, who are supposed to collaborate with civilian authorities to bring this to a close, were also involved.

He, however, restated the state’s commitment to working with the Defence Headquarters Joint Monitoring Team to curb the menace of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.

Governor Diri’s spokesman, Mr Daniel Alabrah, in a statement in Yenagoa, quoted the governor as also expressing delight that the military, which is alleged to be involved in crude oil theft, is now leading the charge to change the narrative on oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region.

He said he was optimistic that the collaboration among security agencies and major stakeholders in the oil industry would go a long way to stem the tide of oil theft and increase production.

He stressed that the state had already demonstrated its commitment in curbing crude theft, pipeline vandalism and environmental pollution by setting up committees at the local government level as well as using jingles and other means to reorientate the youths.

While acknowledging that an improvement of crude oil production from the state would translate to increased allocation from the 13% derivation fund, Diri said it was an anomaly for federating states to go cap in hand to Abuja monthly to share revenue.

He called for the adoption of true federalism where states would be allowed to exploit their resources and pay taxes to the centre in order to encourage them to develop at their own pace, urging oil companies to replace worn-out equipment to avoid frequent failure, which they blame on sabotage.