News
Disclose Names Of Oil Thieves, Tompolo Urged …As TSSNL Uncovers Illegal Export Pipeline
An international environmentalist and rights campaigner, Alhaji Musa Saidu, has called on Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), operated by a former ex-militant leader, Chief Ekpemupolo Government aka Tompolo, to make public the names of oil thieves he claimed to have, saying it would strengthen the war against oil theft.
Saidu, who is coordinator and special envoy, Ecology, and Marine, Africa of the International Rights Commission (IHRC), said Tompolo’s alleged recent discoveries of secret pipelines operated by oil thieves were posing more questions than answers for the ex-militant leader, the Nigerian National Petroleum CompanyLimited (NNPCL) and some corporate stakeholders in the oil and gas sector.
He said the pipelines obviously were not built over night, stressing that they had been visible to all before they were tagged as discovered secret pipelines.
Saidu also spoke on the crisis between Kogi State House of Assembly and Dangote Cement Plc in Obajana, saying the federal, Kogi State governments and Dangote should seek peaceful resolution of the matter.
Describing Kogi State as a business-friendly state, Saidu said those trying to allegedly politicise the whole issue should stop, adding that steps should also be taken to address the allegations of health challenges arising from industrial pollution.
“Those who want to politicise it are hypocrites. The community has right under natural law. For the community to go to the assembly is a show that they are matured. The management of the firm should go and meet the state and the federal governments and settle it peacefully. Kogi State is very friendly to companies.
“The government should intervene for all to be settled peacefully. People should not politicise this. It is a simple thing that can be settled peacefully.”
Meanwhile, operatives of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) and security officials have uncovered a key illegal underwater pipeline and platform connected to the 48–inch Trans-Forcados Export Trunk Line in Delta State from which bunkers, together with government and security accomplices, directly siphon cleaned crude oil into ships and export overseas.
The unearthing of the criminal pipeline and platform attached to the trunk line, operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), is a major breakthrough in the renewed bid by the Federal Government, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Ministry of Defense, and other stakeholders to stop oil theft in the country.
Sources said professionals fabricated the illegal pipeline attached to a crude oil pipeline abandoned by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC), and bunkers generously pump cleaned crude oil into their own vessels from the nation’s Trans-Forcados pipeline at the rear of a military post in Ogulagha, BurutuLocal Government Area of Delta State.
SPDC operates the Forcados Terminal in Ogulagha which has a nameplate capacity to export 400,000 barrels per day.
It takes delivery of crude from the Forcados Oil Pipeline System and is the second largest pipeline network in the oil-producing region after the Bonny Pipeline System in the eastern Niger Delta.
Some IOCs and Nigerian independents operating in the western Niger Delta pump oil to the Forcados Oil Terminal through the pipeline for export.
The newest discovery is like the earlier illegal 4-km pipeline also attached to the same Trans–Forcados Export Trunk Line, earlier discovered by Tantita operatives.
However, the Oil Spill Victims Initiative (OSPVI) has threatened to sue NNPCL and SPDC over the illegal pipeline connections used to siphon the country’s crude oil.
Marine Intelligence Consultant to TSSNL, Captain Warren Enisuoh, who briefed journalists in Ogulagha on the discovery, yesterday, said: “What has happened was that the perpetrators of this organised crime attached pipeline into a Shell Petroleum Development Company 48-inch export line. The crude in this line has been cleaned up and is ready to go.
“So, they tapped into it, the place was initially filled with water, but, technologically, there were able to connect their own pipe underwater.
“We trotted the line on foot to the point it was tapped, we had to create something on either side of the pipeline so that the water could be pumped out.
“For days, we pumped the water out before the illegality was exposed. You see that riser behind me is operated by another joint venture company called AGIP, so, these fellows piped the crude through the abandoned oil field that belongs to AGIP, which they used to pipe crude oil to the Beniboye Flow Station.
“What happened is that instead of piping crude to Beniboye Flow Station, the oil bunkers export crude.
‘That particular jacket you see outside there is a very old one, they cut the Agip line, connected their own through the extreme riser out to that other jacket.
“Then, at night, the usual thing happens, which is that they bring ships to that particular platform, connect their modernized lines to the ships, which they bring in, and off they go from there.
“Well, they are not smarter than Nigeria, NNPCL, Tantita. We discovered this about a week ago, and we had to employ a whole lot of machinery to be able to bring you (reporters) in to see it. It is not a yesterday thing.
“We knew about the platform and started working on it when we had the support of NNPCL and the government. Nigeria has suffered enough; we have to stop these illegalities.
“The distance from the illegality to the point we are standing is about one kilometre and from here to the jacket is approximately four kilometres.
“Therefore, what they do… because the whole line is a six-inch pipe, each time they pump, they open their own valve and the crude stored on this line; then, they close if off so that when their ships are sucking, you would not feel the effect from the pressure on the other side.
“Therefore, it is a smart design, I do not know how long. With the intelligence we have been getting about ships coming to that particular area, which led to this find, it has been going on for a while, more a year perhaps.
“We share our intelligence with the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta and Operation Delta Safe.”
The General Manager of Joint Venture Operations, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Zakariya Budawara, also briefed reporters on the incident.
Budawara said, “NNPCL has been on its toes in trying to bring stability to the host community. And the host community has been helpful in trying to see that we secure all oil and gas facilities, especially the one we saw, which has to do with the crude evacuation line.
“Today, for me, is just any other day, but we feel that the media should come and see the efforts of the NNPCL, stakeholders, including the community, government security agencies, private and community contractors, especially the one in the western corridor, Tantita, are making. Tantita has been doing a great job, all these we are doing to assure Nigerians that we are working to curb crude oil theft.
“We know the direct impact on the revenue and on the people of the host communities and the environment.
“All you have seen is in demonstration of the collaborative efforts of everybody. Nobody can do it alone; it is the efforts of all the stakeholders. I am here on behalf of the Group Managing Director, NNPCL, Mele Kyari, and his lieutenants.”
Sources explained that some International Oil Companies (IOCs), oil bunkers, and security officials jointly steal crude oil through the major pipeline connected to the 48-inch Export Trunk Line through an abandoned pipeline belonging to NAOC.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.