Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has called on the Joint Task Force, South South Operation Delta Safe, to intensify efforts against oil theft and illegal refineries.
He described those who engage in the stealing and illegal refining of the nation’s crude oil as enemies of the state and should be treated as such.
Governor Otti stated this on Friday when he received a delegation of the sector commanders of the Joint Task Force team, charged with the responsibility to secure oil and gas operations in 10 states of the South South, South East, and South West.
“Those who operate illegal refineries and other activities, those are the enemies of the state and should be treated as such.
“Be they in Aba or in Ukwa or Port Harcourt or Bayelsa or any of the other 10 states, where you operate. The long arm of the government must be made to catch up with them.
“For us, we do not support any illegality by anybody in any form. You can take it for granted that we, as a government, will give you all the support to carry out your operation here,” Otti stated.
He implored the task force to also work to secure the Abia Innovation and Industrial Park (AIIP) at Owaza, in Ukwa West and assured them of the support of the State Government in terms of logistics and intelligence sharing to make their assignment easier.
Otti noted the importance of security for development. He pointed out that citizens of Abia State had enjoyed relative peace within the last one year, until the incident at Obikabia Junction, on Thursday, May 30, where five soldiers of the Nigerian army were brutally assassinated by criminals.
He assured the task force of the government’s ongoing investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Rear Admiral John Okeke, Commander of the JTF South South Operation Delta Safe, stated that he was in Abia to familiarise with the State as one of their coverage areas in the fight against oil theft and illegal refineries among the oil producing states.
The Commander, who used the opportunity to intimate the Governor of activities of the task force, said that part of their mandate is to curb illegal activities in the oil and gas sector.
“The Federal Government thought it wise to come up with Joint Task Force South South Operation Delta Safe with a mandate to protect oil and gas infrastructure and stop militancy, sea robbery, crude oil theft and other forms of militancy that could impact negatively on the economic activities, with emphasis on the oil and gas sector,” Okeke said.
He assured that the task force would collaborate with the State Government as well as other security agencies in the area of information sharing, adding that they were determined to curb illicit activities within their areas of operation.
The Commander requested logistical support from the state government to achieve their objectives.