Sylva Admits Security Personnel Conniving with Criminals to Steal Oil

11 Apr Sylva Admits Security Personnel Conniving with Criminals to Steal Oil

Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva yesterday admitted that some security personnel deployed to fight oil theft were heavily involved in collaborating with those stealing the commodity in the Niger Delta.

Speaking on a television programme, “Eagle Eye” last night, he noted that the government was planning various layers to monitor  the personnel paid to halt the menace.

“Definitely, there are collaborators. Even during militancy, we had this issue within the military. So the government could not really enforce the law effectively because of the activities of these collaborators.

“If you have something like a crime that has gone on for this long and a joint task force is in place to actually exterminate this crime and the crime has even gone worse,  then definitely whoever is in charge is probably not doing their job.
“But at this time, the federal government is giving a note of warning and there will be other layers on top of those who are actually operating to monitor them, because the problem is to send people to take care of the crime and if you just leave them on their own, then in many cases they become part of the crime,” he contended.

Sylva stated that the current incessant vandalism of oil and gas pipelines was a metamorphosis of the militancy in the Niger Delta region, which although led to the training of several youths in the region, has extended to the ongoing challenge.
He noted that oil theft was not a creation of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, stressing that it has been in Nigeria for decades. He said that at a time there was some sympathy for the culprits, which aggravated the matter.
The minister stated that the situation is no longer sustainable, pointing out that Nigeria is currently losing a lot of its production, a development that spurred the president to act on the matter.

Describing the inability of Nigeria to meet its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota, as a sad topic for discussion, he said that it was caused by a combination of factors that were responsible, including lack of new investment as a result of the delay in passing the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

In addition, he listed sabotage, vandalism and the challenge of restarting oil wells that were shut down to align with OPEC cuts in 2020.
He said that there’s been some improvement , stressing that by the end of this year, production will be ramped up to pre-pandemic levels.
Sylva stated that the negative belief that people could sit down in their homes and have free money introduced by some members of the elite in the Niger Delta was also to blame for the current challenge.

Sylva argued that when the federal government sought the help of some leaders in the Niger to tackle the problem, they were rebuffed, but said that the recent efforts by the Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, had brought to the fore the magnitude of the problem and how it affects everyone.