The House of Representatives’ Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft met on Friday with the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, to deliberate on collaborative strategies to protect pipelines and other critical facilities in the nation’s oil and gas industry.
The Chairman of the Committee, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, who led the delegation to the Nigerian Navy Headquarters, Abuja, pledged the readiness of lawmakers to play their part in the President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s quest to revamp the oil and gas sector in the country.
This is just as the All Progressives Congress lawmaker from Kano State stressed the need for a review of relevant laws to reposition the sector for optimal performance.
The chairman also assured of a “possible consideration for improved funding for the Navy to enhance their policing duties in defending and protecting our critical assets in the oil and gas industry.”
A statement issued by the media team of the Kano-born lawmaker on Sunday quoted Ado-Doguwa as saying, “We appreciate the good work the men and officers of the Nigerian Navy and other sister forces and security agencies have been doing to secure our pipelines to make sure that the country gets good value for our mineral resources, but we recognise that there is still a room for more because Nigeria is still losing more to the illegal activities of vandals and crude oil thefts.
“This is why the Honourable Speaker Tajudeen Abbas has set up this committee to address one of the threats to the nation’s economy.
“Thus, the committee’s primary objective of determining the proximate and remote causes of oil theft and recommending remedial measures to the parliament, means it has to engage with critical stakeholders like the Navy.”
Responding, Admiral Ogalla, appreciated the committee’s effort, promising to work together in the overall interest of the nation.
The CNS, however, expressed concerns over the delay in the prosecution of suspected criminals arrested by his men stationed to provide security for oil and facilities and called on the lawmakers to create a legal framework to harmonise government-owned security agencies with private security firms for optimal results.
Credit Gist New Today News in Newspaper Nigeria Headlines
