FG Erects Committee To Combat Illegal Refineries In Niger Delta
The Federal Government established an Inter-Ministerial Committee to combat illegal crude oil refineries in the Niger Delta region of the country on Thursday in an effort to stop income leakages.
Members of the Committee were taken from the Ministry of Defence, the Nigerian Army, the Navy, Defence Headquarters, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, who took their pledge at the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN.
And also the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Environment, the Department of Petroleum Resources, and the Federal Ministry of Justice
Mr Umar Mohammed, the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, who represented the AGF at the event, said the Committee’s main obligation was “the recovery of illegally refined petroleum products (crude oil) in dug-up pits found around the Niger Delta creeks.”
“In line with the policy of the current administration on security and economy, as well as the preservation of the environment from negative hazards,” the SGF said.
“The office of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, in collaboration with all stakeholders, have put in place a mechanism for effective and efficient management of illegally refined products recovered from dug-up pits found around the creeks of the Niger Delta.
“This mechanism was agreed by the relevant stakeholders and submitted to the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation who considered and approved the establishment of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for the purpose of implementing the Mechanism known as Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) For the Recovery of Illegally Refined Petroleum Products (Crude Oil) in the Dug-Up Pit found around the creeks of the Niger Delta”.
According to the SGF, the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Inter-Ministerial Committee’s Secretariat would coordinate the procedure.
“The responsibility of the Inter-Ministerial Committee is to detect, report, evacuate, assess, and ensure transparent disposal of the product with due consideration to the environment.
“The Inter-Ministerial Committee shall be guided by the SOP, developed for the project.
“The content of the SOP is drawn from the provision of the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations 2019.
The SGF went on to say, “It is my hope that the proceeds from this exercise will be a source of additional income for the country.”
