Association Seeks Military Deployment To Niger Delta To Enhance Oil Production
By: Jack Acheme & Helen Shok Jok, Abuja
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (PENGASSAN), has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to deploy more military personnel to the Niger Delta, to halt crude oil theft, and generate more revenue for the country.
President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Festus Osifo made the call on the sidelines of the National Executive Council, (NEC), meeting of the Association held in Abuja, Nigeria.
He said the deployment would further safeguard oil production, and increase output by an estimated 30 percent which could be used to stabilize the economy of the country
He said the oil sector remains the instant cash cow of the Nigerian economy as such must be given more attention, even as attempts are being made to diversify the economy in the solid mineral and agriculture sectors to generate more revenue for the country
“We employ government President Tinubu to ask his commanders to relocate to Niger Delta and ensure that this menace of crude oil theft is put to a halt for more revenue to be generated and at the end of the day, the Nigerian state will be better for it,” he said.
He urged the military to exercise caution while trying to fish out the killers of military personnel in the Okuoma community in Delta state so that the innocent ones would not become victims.
“We condemn what happened in the Okuoma community. The government should do everything possible to bring the perpetrators of the act to book and justice be served. However, we want the military to approach the issue with caution to avoid a repeat of what happened in Zaki Biam and Odi,” he said.
Reacting on the increment of electricity Tariff for band A consumers, Osifo said the Association is still studying the development and will soon come out with a statement but was quick to add that the increment from N66 naira to N225 naira per kilowatt is on the high side.
“We are still studying it. There is the need for interrogation and intervention by the Association so that the policy will not quickly snowball to the other bands where the downtrodden are,” he said
He added that the Association was excited by the reduction of Diesel price by the Dangote refinery to N1,225 per liter from about N1,700 per litter, stressing that it will impact the economy positively
He said the production of petroleum products locally, eliminates a lot of handling costs which brings down the price of the commodity, a campaign in which PENGASSAN has been at the forefront, resulting in repairs of some refineries in the country.
Olusola Akintonde
