Asari Dokubo Reveals Those Behind Oil Theft In Niger Delta

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Post created on 6:08 pm

 

 

Mujahid Asari Dokubo, former President of the Ijaw Youth Council and former leader of, the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, has revealed the categories of people behind oil theft in the Niger Delta region.

Dokubo who made the revelation when he appeared on Arise TV News Program, Wednesday night, said some wills need to be tactically put in place and show commitment to it before the oil theft could stop.

The former Ijaw Youth Council leader also gave an insight into why he complained over the pipeline contract awarded to Tompolo by the Federal Government. Speaking on the oil theft and its effect in the region, Dokubo said: “Oil theft will continue as long as we continue to be doing things the way we have been doing and expect a different result.

“You cannot be claiming to tackle oil theft when you’re not committed in your drive to stop it, there is no sincerity, if there is sincerity, then we will do it.

“For instance, there is primary economic theory, that nearest to raw materials where you employ people in the environment in which you produced, you don’t import people, so when you bring in whether local or foreign expatriate workers to the region, you pay them more.

“When you have qualified individuals in around where these resources are found and you refuse to engage them in one way or the other in the process of exploration or exploitation of these resources you found out that people will resort to self-help, because improvised the people, you can’t destroy their environment and expect them to fold their hands and watch.

“There must be a will to change the narrative in the Niger Delta region, but when that will is lacking and we’re not able to change this behaviour that everything belongs to everybody no, it does not belong to everybody, these things are found on the land of the people and oil production affects the economy of these people. It affects the environment, it affects the morale of the people.

“You bring in foreign expatriates, they do all sort of thing and they leave, so there must be a will to correct these in-balances and this injustice that is being perpetrated in the oil industry.

“Except we do these, the story about oil theft won’t stop. When asked to reveal the people behind oil theft in the Niger Delta region, Dokubo listed three categories of people, he said:

“There are three groups of people involved in the oil theft. Some are working for the oil multinationals and the Nigerian oil conglomerates, NNPC.

“Now, if we say Nigeria produces 1.8 million barrels per day, is Nigeria producing 1.8 million barrels? Or, is the oil pumped above that figure and part of the money not remitted or does the govt have no knowledge or does not come into the govt purse?

“And there are those big people who are either in the military and so on, who bring these vessels and go straight to the various ware heads and load directly. We know these things, these things are true, we know them.

“They come with these vessels, they load and award contract to Tompolo, yes, there were a lot of people who complained including me, but the Ijaw nation intervened, as one of the leaders of the Ijaw nation, I have to back down.

On being an ex-leader of Niger Delta Militant, Dokubo cautioned the ARISE TV presenter to stop addressing him as such “I was the former President of the Ijaw Youth Council and former leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Front and Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force. There is no time have I called myself a militant.