NUPENG Urges Oil Firm To Evacuate Staff …As Militants Threaten Kachikwu

Oil companies operating in Nigeria should evacuate their staff from the southern Niger Delta after several attacks on oil facilities, a Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) official said, yesterday.
Chairman of the Warri branch of the NUPENG, Comrade Cogent Ojobor, told newsmen yesterday that, “Best thing for any reasonable company to do is evacuate its workforce”.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Rivers State, Comrade Chika Onuegbu, said Chevron had evacuated some staff from the region, after a similar move by Shell.
“There is high alert around various installations around the Niger Delta due to recent attacks,” Onuegbu said.
“Those evacuated are where their platforms have been attacked but others are working,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, yesterday, revealed that he had been receiving threats through messages and phone calls from a militant.
In his speech at the Federal Government town hall meeting held in Kaduna State, the minister lamented the outcome of attacks on oil installations, mostly carried out in the Niger Delta region.
He noted that the incessant attacks and destruction of pipelines was draining the country’s resources, but added that the government was on top of the situation.
In his words, “Last week, my phone number was published in Sahara Reporters, and then, I began to get millions of phone calls.
“One of the first phone calls I took not knowing who was calling me was from a militant somewhere, and when I picked up the phone, he said, ‘Are you the minister of petroleum’, I said ‘yes’.
“He said, ‘I dey go blow pipeline tomorrow’, and I said, ‘why would you do that my brother if you love Nigerians?’ He said, ‘are you sure you are the minister’, I said ‘yes’.
“Then he said for being so humble, I will drop the plan. That’s the kind of environment under which we operate.”
Kachikwu further pleaded with Nigerians to be patient over the current economic challenges facing the country, stressing that the Buhari-led administration has the ability to bring the situation under control.
He added, “The reality of our situation is that wherever I turn when I was appointed, I had problems. If I turned to the refineries when I joined in October, they were not working. If I turned to the pipelines, they were non-existent.
“But I wasn’t discouraged, because if I had problems, what will I say of a man who at his age took over the mantle of this country? His Excellency, Mr President, so, that gave me a lot of encouragement,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, gunmen suspected to be militants, yesterday, killed three soldiers at Foropa, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
As at the time of filing this report, no official confirmation has been made, and no group has claimed responsibility.