Following the resolution reached by the service chiefs on Tuesday in a meeting in Abuja to deal with perpetrators of oil theft and increase crude oil production in the country, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, has held a meeting with top security officers within the South-South geopolitical zone as well as relevant bodies.
The meeting was held on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Nigerian Army, 6 Division in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The closed-door meeting lasted over five hours. It was a meeting between the CDS and top General Officers Commanding divisions within the South-South states in the Niger Delta area. Commissioners of Police and heads of other security agencies were also present.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri; the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari; and his counterpart at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed; were also present.
The meeting followed the resolution of the service chiefs to tighten security around oil facilities and combat oil theft, aimed at boosting oil production, which currently stands at 1.276 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, in the shortest possible time.
Addressing journalists shortly after the meeting, Lokpobiri and the NNPC boss assured Nigerians that oil production would rise within the deadline with the plans in place.
General Musa reiterated the military’s resolve to follow President Bola Tinubu’s directive to tighten security in the Niger Delta, stop leakages and improve oil production.
On his part, Ahmed stated that tighter security is essential for boosting production. He also dispelled rumours that the Federal Government is trying to hinder the operation of Dangote Refinery.
