TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, Samuel Nwanosike, has vowed to get rid of illegal oil bunkering in the area.
Nwanosike made the vow in an interview with Sunday Sun at the council’s headquarters, Isiokpo, stressing that the channels supplying crude oil to oil thieves would be cut off.
The former state spokesman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) disclosed that he had directed Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to shut down any pipeline in Ikwerre LGA with illegal valves attached to criminal activities.
He said the council has zero tolerance for oil theft, stating that with the cooperation of security agencies, activities of oil thieves would be nipped in the bud.
Nwanosike stated: “I have told Shell clearly that we would not tolerate any oil bunkering in our local government. I said the company must come and do the needful by coming to shutdown line where they had illegal valves attached to by criminals. So that they (Shell) can cut off those valves and seal it off forever”.
The Ikwerre council boss noted several criminal activities surrounding oil bunkering, adding that as long as such illegal business is not discouraged, crime would thrive in the society.
He said: “Whether you like it or not, crude oil bunkering businesses would attract crime in the environment because those funds would be used to facilitate their criminal activities.
“Therefore, for us as a people, with the available resources, and the difficulties COVID-19 has provided, we are not deterred in fighting insecurity.
“We are making sure that we give service to our people because we know in the future, posterity will judge us right, that we have an opportunity and we used it well”, Nwanosike emphasized.
