Oil & Energy
Increased Oil Bunkering: WIPM Seeks Security Agency’s Intervention
The Warri Indigenous Peoples Movement (WIPM) has urged security agencies to crack down on the high-level oil bunkering activities in the Niger Delta region.
The President – General, WIPM, Hon Kingsley Tenumah, made the call at a Press Conference, in Abuja, last Thursday.
called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to expand its investigations beyond refinery turnaround expenditures to include the role of some security agencies in allowing illegal bunkering to persist.
Describing the illegal siphoning of crude oil from Nigeria as a major threat to national revenue and regional stability, the movement said shiploads of Nigerian crude oil continue to leave the country illegally on a daily basis.
He called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to expand its investigations beyond refinery turnaround expenditures to include the role of some security agencies in allowing illegal bunkering to persist.
Tenumah clarified that the Itsekiri ethnic nationality is not involved in any protest or campaign calling for the removal of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari.
He said the focus should be on those operating on the high seas, not just small-scale jerry-can bunkering.
In his words, “We want the authorities to go after the high-level oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region, the ones operating on the high seas, not just the small-scale jerry-can bunkering. Shiploads of illegal Nigerian crude oil are being taken out of this country on a daily basis.
“We live in the Niger Delta, and it should be known that the region comprises over 30 major ethnic nationalities. One tribe cannot lord it over the rest of us. That is why we are distancing ourselves from any call to remove Engineer Bayo Ojulari.
“We want the EFCC to expand its investigation beyond the funds spent on refinery turnaround maintenance. They must also probe how the military allows this bunkering to escape with our oil every day. All this blackmail is simply to pressure Ojulari into opening the pipelines again so they can resume looting our oil.”
Stressing the contribution of the Itsekiri ethnic nationality, which he said produces over 33 per cent of Nigeria’s oil revenue, Tenumah stressed the need for fair treatment in the allocation of jobs, contracts, and benefits from oil production.
Also speaking, the General Secretary, WIPM, Comrade Monoyo Edon, noted that concerns about past decisions or policies of the NNPCL should be addressed through proper oversight and due process.
According to him, any calls for investigations or reviews should be made responsibly and through the appropriate institutions of government.
“We encourage dialogue rather than confrontation and urge all parties to seek solutions that will promote transparency, accountability, and sustainable development in the oil sector. We note that leadership positions in the oil and gas sector often face scrutiny and pressure. It is important that such scrutiny is fair and focused on policy rather than personalities or ethnic affiliations,” he said.
Chief Priest of the Omadino Community in Warri South Local Government Area, Roland Oti-Yomere, maintained that illegal bunkering is the real fight.
Oti- Yomere said “what we are focused on today is the rampant illegal bunkering taking place in the creeks. The Managing Director is aware of it and is determined to put an end to it. That is the real fight. We will support him fully to ensure that those involved are brought to justice.
“We are also calling on the authorities to rise to their responsibilities and take firm action. We stand in support of the Presidency and its ongoing reforms. We believe that once these reforms take root, everyone will get their fair share.
“That is why some people are fighting against it. Finally, we appeal that surveillance contracts be shared among ethnic nationalities based on their actual production levels”.