Omiete Blessing
Rivers State Governor, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, has revealed that despite sabotage by disgruntled elements to frustrate the fight initiated by his administration in tackling illegal bunkering in the State, formidable successes have been recorded.
This is as the governor has expressed delight that the success will further be sustained, given the commendable interest shown by the Presidency that has constituted the Niger Delta Monitoring Team, tasked with the mandate to curb oil theft and illegal refining of crude oil in the entire region.
Governor Fubara spoke on Wednesday, when he received the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who led a delegation of the Joint Federal Government Team on Security of National Assets on courtesy visit to Government House in Port Harcourt.
The Governor said those saboteurs are not only attempting to disrupt the course of delivery of critical projects and good governance but extended it to create disaffection within the thriving business climate because they do not want to see anything good reckoned with his administration.
Governor Fubara stated that he is not deterred by those acts, saying there is a stronger determination to rewrite the story and ensure that Rivers people get the best while the national economy does not suffer by what happens in the State.
Governor Fubara said: “You know what they say, everything might not be God’s wish, but everything worked for God’s desire. We are faced with a situation where the little that we are doing here are being sabotaged by some persons who do not want to see any good in what we are doing.
“This is not just in the aspect of governance, but also in the aspect of economic activities of this country. And, one way or the other, this particular moment has created an opportunity for us to rewrite those stories.”
Governor Fubara emphasised: “I can say here boldly that before this time, we’ve had a very wonderful working relationship with the Service Commanders here. And in Rivers State, we have done so much in the aspect of combating illegal bunkering and pipeline vandalisation.
“And, you can imagine what has just happened now. When the Federal Government is now being part of it, through the different headquarters of the (military) service arm, to complement what we are doing. I can assure you that it is going to be a total success.”
Governor Fubara expressed his confidence in the members of the Team and how professional the Chief of Defence Staff has conducted their operations. He also explained that he did not appoint Henry Wordu into the team merely because he knows him, but because of his interest to defend the State and Nigeria.
The Governor explained the drastic decision that has been taken to curb incidences of piracy at some sea routes in the State.
He said: “You mentioned something, the issue of sea pirates. That is even one of the problems I am having today. Because of what we are doing through the Navy and the Air Force, which are also supporting us, they’ve all entered into the waterways now.
“The waterways around Bonny Local Government Area are the tracks they operate now; kidnapping of innocent people who are coming from Bonny Island to Port Harcourt or some of them on their way from Port Harcourt to Bonny Island.
“As we are talking now, we have already started doing something. Myself and the Office of the Secretary of the State Government, have already directed them to acquire six gun boats, so we can handover some of them to the Navy, so that they can cover some areas of interest.”
Governor Fubara restated his resolve to ensure that everything goes on well by providing the needed State Government’s support that will contribute to increasing crude oil production.
In his speech, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, said his visit was to assess the level of implementation of their directives towards achieving the mandate of Mr President in securing the oil producing areas, ensure that crude oil production increases, and inaugurate the two committees: the Defense Joint Monitoring Team and the Defense Joint Intelligence Infusion Centre.
General Musa explained: “Now, why we have these two is to enhance the work we already have been doing on ground. We have observed over time that there are gaps in the activities ongoing, and for us to be able to achieve the mandate of the Commander-in-Chief and President of Nigeria, we have to do things differently.
“And firstly, what we did was that with the Operation Delta Safe (ODS), we made sure that all the security forces and other agencies are working together under the Joint Task Force.
“They have their company Commanders and personnel, and whatever that is being done, we are doing it together in unison. We understand that synergy is very crucial to our success, and that is the first thing that we did.
“And secondly, the Monitoring Team and the Infusion Centre. The Monitoring Team is to also go round and see where they are gaps to be able to direct the operations so that they can be able to see that things are covered.”
General Musa added the Infusion Centre is task to also harmonize all the intelligence agencies together, gather all the information, whether it deals with oil production or other acts of criminality that will help in taking direct action to ensure that there is peace.
The Chief of Defence Staff also expressed appreciation to Governor Fubara for creating an enabling environment with his sterling leadership style. He noted that there is zero rancor which has engendered peace and security as seen in Rivers State.
He added that the peaceful atmosphere created by the government has enabled members of the Armed Forces in the State to perform their operations and other activities unhindered, and urged the governor to continue to show leadership by sustaining peace and advancing the development of the State.
