Group Lauds Defence Chief Over Oil Theft Reduction In Niger Delta

The Niger Delta Youth Coalition for Peace and Progress (NDYCPP) has lauded the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, for the reduction of illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region.

It said Musa’s kinetic and non-kinetic operational apparatus towards the total eradication of the sabotuering activities of oil bunkerers and other forms of crime and criminality in the Niger Delta, have reduced such activities in the region.

NDYCPP, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Friday by its national president, Olayinka Teidor, said activities of the CDS were yielding clear positive results for everyone to see.

The statement read in part: “NDYCPP is one of the foremost youth advocacy groups that has been championing the cause of the Niger Delta through robust and constructive engagements with relevant key stakeholders; like Government functionaries, I O C officials, community leaders etc.

“Almost close to a decade now, we have
observe with commendation the giant strides of the Federal Government through the office of the “Chief of Defence Staff”, ably superintendent by General Chris Musa whose kinetic and non-kinetic operational apparatus towards the total eradication of the saboteuring activities of oil bunkerers and other forms of crime and criminality in the Niger Delta.

“It is yielding clear positive results for everyone to see; particularly those of us who have been following events in the Niger Delta with keen interest because of our sincere commitment to see that peace and progress thrive in our communities and towns across the Niger Delta.

“With the development, investors can come in to open businesses, not only by providing employment opportunities for our teeming youth population but also fulfilling their tax obligations to Government, thereby boosting revenue accruals to Government which invariably will translate to more provision of social amenities and allied services by Government to the people thereby engendering harmonious socio-economic co-existence in the polity which automatically become a win-win trajectory for everyone.

“The Major General Jimoh Jamiu led special monitoring team has brought about relative zero perpetration of the hitherto oil theft activities that was very prevalent in the Niger Delta to a record low.

“From when the current Chief of Defence Staff, General Chris Musa took the realm of affairs, as the C.D.S to now, there has been a considerable decline in crime and criminality in the Niger Delta, especially oil-bunkering activities, pipeline and other oil facilities vandalization.

“One salient point we will also like to laud the office of the Chief of Defence Staff is the Collaborative Radio jingles with such dynamic and vibrant mass mobilizing socio-cultural groups that are grounded in the region, such as MOSIEND, Movement for the Survival of the Ijaw Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta, sensitizing the populace on the ills of oil bunkering activities across the Niger Delta. It is a very strategic media campaign to encourage the populace that we all have a duty to end this menace in our polity.

“One other area we would like the Government to take a critical look at is to grant prerogative of state pardon and mercy to willing repentant former oil bunkerers who are genuinely desirous to be re-integrated to verifiable, legitimate livelihood opportunities after they have been duly and carefully profiled by a select security technical committee to keep a compendium of their bio-data in case they relapse to their former criminal activities so that they could be swiftly rounded up.”