Stolen Crude: Discipline erring military officers, publish list of operations — Sahara Energy Co-founder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In an interview on Channels TV on Sunday night, Mr Tonye Cole said the allegation by Dokubo is true stating that the military cannot deny that they don’t know that it is true.

He however noted that attributing 99 per cent crude oil theft to the military is false.

“The military annoyance comes from the fact that Asari Dokubo accuses them of 99 per cent involvement in crude oil theft. To say 99 per cent is to say that the military is solely responsible for the problem in the Niger Delta.

“They will not deny that there are bad eggs that aid and abet. When the military catches any of them, they discipline them. Everyone in the ecosystem is part of the blame and we all need to sit down to address the issue,” he said.

Speaking further, Mr Tonye Cole, an APC chieftain  in Rivers State and Co-founder of Sahara Energy noted that “the problem in the Niger Delta is that they have weaponised poverty to such an extent that economic activities around crude oil bunkering is now one of the sources of financing and we need to address it.

“If 20 years ago we were doing 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd), apart from general maintenance we should at least be able to maintain 2.4 mbpd.

“That it is going down means there is a big problem when production drops more than half. It must worry us as a country.

“The issue is that alot of our oil are being siphoned. Pipelines have multiple areas from which they have been unplugged and they are being depleted.

“If we wanted to know the exact point where oil is being siphoned, we will know. So, it requires very strong political will to tackle the issue of oil theft.

“There is a second part which we must address. It is an economic issue. If you want to stop them, you have the kingpins and the underlings who are beneficiaries. You have to address them and not just those who sit on top.

“We must get into the Niger Delta and make the people know that they are part of the solution. President Tinubu will first need to have a multifaceted discussion with the people of the Niger Delta who are having a brunt of it.” he stressed.

Mr Cole also advised President Tinubu to speak to the military about Civil military organization (CIMEN) which has deployed effectively in the North East of Nigeria and also globally.

“Using force alone won’t work. The CIMEN is part of the solution that can be deployed because it begins to have an interaction with those who are victims, perpetrators to find the solution as to what can be done.”

He also encouraged the military to make examples of bad eggs to send a message and also showcase some of the operations that have been carried out so people can be more aware of their operations.