‘Kpo Fire’: Profile Some Politicians, Ahiakwo Insists

Lawmaker representing Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Constituency ll in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Christian Ahiakwo, has recommended that some politicians in the state be profiled to know their source of income.
The lawmaker said this method can help check artisanal refining and their sponsors.
He alleged that some prominent politicians engage in the business, considering the huge fund required to carry out artisanal refining.
He stressed, “Every politician should be profiled to check whether they are involved. And if they are involved, they should be prosecuted as well to serve as deterrent to others.”
On the other hand, he blamed the Federal Government for the booming artisanal refining business in Niger Delta.
Ahiakwo, who bared his mind during a stakeholders’ meeting organised by Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Council at Omoku, recently, said laxity of the federal authorities has encouraged artisanal refining of crude oil products.
“As far as I’m concerned, petroleum falls under the purview of the Federal Government, and since they promised to approve modular refineries, nothing has been done”,the lawmaker declared.
Ahiakwo, who is also chairman, House Committee on the Environment, reasoned that policy somersaults were factors that have made it difficult to harness the potentials of those involved in artisanal refining to strengthen the economy.
Blaming oil firms’ staffers for contributing to the menace of ‘Kpofire’ – artisanal refining, Ahiakwo revealed that most of the workers in the oil firms give out sensitive information that aid those involved in the criminal act to be able to tap from oil pipelines.
Besides giving out information, he accused some of the oil firms’ staff of providing expertise to the crude oil thieves, as he wondered how an oil pipeline could be ruptured without expert knowledge.

By: Kevin Nengia