President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, promised that his administration will deal decisively with the seeming resurgence of oil theft, pipeline vandalism and insecurity in the Niger Delta.
Niger Delta militants had last Thursday attacked the Escravos-Warri-Abuja-Lagos pipelines.
The militants also blew up the Chevron Nigeria Limited’s Utunan-Makaraba crude oil pipeline on Friday and proceeded to bomb the Olero gas pipeline on Saturday.
The attacks were suspected to be aimed at crippling the nation’s crude oil production.
But the President said while the Nigerian Armed Forces had already dealt “deadly blows” on Boko Haram, the activities of oil thieves and vandals will also be brought to an end soon.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President spoke during an interactive session he had with members of the Nigerian Community in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
“The oil thieves and abductors are a less problematic target. We will re-organise and deal with them,” Buhari was quoted as telling the Nigerians.
The President was also said to have urged telecommunication companies operating in Nigeria not to place their desire for huge profits above the security needs of the country.
He said the war against terrorism can only be won with the collective effort and a commitment by all stakeholders to work in unison to halt the scourge.
In apparent reference to the recent fine imposed on MTN Nigeria by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the President said the registration of all mobile phone users without exception will help the security agencies to pre-empt terrorist attacks.
He said telecommunication companies operating in Nigeria must adhere to the rules and guidelines of the NCC.
Buhari also assured Nigerians at the interactive session that his administration’s war against corruption would continue to be vigorously pursued.
He pledged that more persons who had abused the public trust will be exposed and brought to justice soon.
The President added that his government was committed to re-establishing former standards of accountability and probity in the management of public funds which were jettisoned under past administrations.
He, therefore, appealed for more patience and understanding from Nigerians as his administration takes steps to safeguard the economy from the shock of falling oil prices.
“In the face of our new economic reality of dwindling oil prices, there are a number of things we can really do without in order to preserve our economy.
“We must develop the capacity to feed ourselves and we should be spending our resources on real development projects, not luxuries,” he said.