Nigeria lacks resources to stop Avengers and others operating in the Niger Delta - National Executive Council Committee

Nigeria lacks resources to stop Avengers and others - National Executive Council Committee

The ad hoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft Prevention and Control of the National Economic Council (NEC) has revealed that government does not have adequate operational vessels to patrol and secure the network of pipelines in the Niger Delta.

Briefing journalists at the end of the 67th meeting of NEC which held on Thursday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Admiral John Jonah Atuama (rtd), said the committee also discovered that massive unemployment among youths in the Niger Delta region had contributed in no small measure to the rising incidence of oil theft and vandalism of oil company facilities in the region.

Atuama said that he reported to the council that the committee, which was set up sometime in 2013, consulted widely with relevant stakeholders including the Armed Forces Joint Task Force (JTF), oil companies, oil producing states, and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), among others.

According to him, the scarcity of petroleum products in the Niger Delta area was also responsible for the recurrence of illegal bunkering.

He said the committee recommended that appropriate technology must be procured and deployed for surveillance of the oil and gas facilities.

The deputy governor said the committee also recommended that combat vehicles/boats be procured and deployed in difficult terrains to drastically reduce incidents of oil theft and illegal bunkering.

This, the committee said, would ensure full benefits of uninterrupted supply of oil and gas to the terminals and for domestic use.

Among others, the committee recommended that the federal government should set up special courts for the speedy prosecution of illegal oil bunkerers and oil theft suspects, and the engagement of traditional rulers to sensitise their communities on the criminal and environmental dangers of oil theft.

To address the problems in the oil sector on a long-term basis, NEC further agreed that there should be an increase in the refining capacity of the domestic refineries through the co-location of smaller cost-efficient refineries within the timeframe of 12 to 24 months.

It was also agreed that focus should be on restoring upstream production by positively engaging host communities to bring the current militancy to an end.

The Delta deputy governor added that council also agreed that attention should be focused on improving government funding in the upstream sector where funding had been less than 30 per cent and that government should be relieved of monthly cash-call funding and create a sustainable self-funding arrangement.

The council further agreed that government should continue to engage the general public and all stakeholders by providing relevant information and education.

Also yesterday, NEC approved a fiscal sustainability plan aimed at helping states navigate the current economic downturn.

NEC, which is composed of all the 36 state governors and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, meets monthly and is chaired by the vice-president.

A statement issued by the media aide to the vice-president, Mr. Laolu Akande, said the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, reported to the council that the balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) stood at $2,259,688,878.06 as at April 30, 2016.

She put the interest that accrued to the account at $429,903.55 for the month of April 2016.

The chairman of NEC, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, informed the council that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the reconstitution of the board of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), adding that the board would be put in place soon.

The statement said that Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole on behalf of NEC’s ad hoc Committee on the Management of the Excess Crude Account and Payments into the Federation Account reported to the council that the sub-committee endorsed the forensic auditors’ firms as earlier proposed by the finance minister to audit the ECA.

Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello also gave an update on states that have received bailout funds and those outstanding.

Bello said the CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele reported to the council that 30 states had so far benefited from the salary bailout as at May 18, 2016 while 35 states had applied for Excess Crude Account-backed loans.

Bello said Kogi State’s application for the bailout funds was being processed and expressed the hope that the state would get it next week.

The governor also said the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, gave an update on fuel supply in the country.

He said Kachikwu briefed the council on the reasons the federal government removed the subsidy on petrol and gave oil marketers approval to source their foreign exchange requirements from autonomous sources to facilitate fuel imports and end scarcity of the product.

Also, the Minister of Budget and National Planning Udo Udoma told journalists at the end of the meeting that he made a presentation on the strategic plan for 2016 budget implementation.

The Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, in her briefing, said that in response to previous requests, the finance minister made a presentation to the council on the fiscal sustainability plan and fiscal framework for the states.

Ezeilo said that council approved the plan, which had five key strategic objectives: accountability and transparency; increase in public revenue; rationalisation of public expenditure; public financial management reforms; and sustainable debt management.

She said the minister recommended action points with a view to achieving the objectives that would align both the short-term and long-term sustainability objectives of the federal and state governments.

Ezeilo also said that the Minister of State for Solid Minerals presented a policy paper to the council. The policy paper was presented to NEC to apprise it of the reforms of the minerals sector and to particularly address the issuance of licences for solid minerals exploration by both federal and state governments.

-Thisday