The Nigerian Navy has vowed to crush oil thieves and achieve a 100% reduction in crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
Speaking after a gruelling 12-kilometer march with his team, to mark the second quarter of the route March in Port Harcourt, the Commander of Nigerian Navy Ship(NNS) PATHFINDER, Commodore Desmond Igbo declared that the Navy is fit and ready to tackle the menace of oil bunkering head-on.
In a show of strength and determination, Igbo noted that the march was to demonstrate their readiness to tackle oil theft in the Niger Delta region, declaring that his men completed the walk without any casualties, showcasing their fitness and ability to carry out their duties, particularly in the fight against oil bunkering.
According to him, the exercise aims to maintain the physical fitness of Navy personnel, ensuring they can perform their duties effectively and efficiently.
He emphasized that fitness is crucial in the Navy and that the quarterly route marches are essential for maintaining the readiness of Navy men and officers.
However, the Commander’s vow comes on the heels of a significant reduction in oil theft incidents in the region, with a 90% drop already achieved.
He attributed this success to the Chief of Naval Staff’s, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla’s mandate and pledged to build on this momentum to achieve total victory over oil thieves.
The Commander noted that Nigeria’s oil production has surged from 1.1 million barrels per day to nearly 1.7 million barrels per day, a testament to the Navy’s collaborative efforts with other security agencies.
He said: “The men behind me are our men so we went for almost twelve kilometres walk and all of us came back completely nobody dropped on the way, so that shows you how fit we are to carry out our duties, especially the Anti-bunkery duties.
“We must prevent the enemies of Nigeria from stealing our crude oil and to God be the glory and in pursuance of the Chief of Naval Staff Mandate, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, that we must reduce the incident of oil theft in the Niger Delta and to God be the glory, we have also reduced it to at least 90%.
“We are ready to reduce the oil theft incident in Niger Delta to 100% if not, God willing, we will do that, the oil production has increased, as you are aware when we came in it was about 1.1 but now we are talking about close to 1.7 million barrels per day, so that is our work and what we have done with collaboration with other security agencies to achieve this feat”.
He, however, charged his men to sustain their fitness regime, urging them to continue exercising and keeping fit to perform their duties effectively and efficiently.
He reiterated the Navy’s zero-tolerance stance on compromise and criminality, warning that any personnel found wanting would face decisive action. Commander Igbo praised his men for refraining from compromise and criminality, attributing this to the Chief of Naval Staff’s mandate.
Under his watch, Commander Igbo vowed to maintain the highest standards of discipline and performance, ensuring that the Nigerian Navy Ship(NNS) PATHFINDER is a symbol of excellence in the Navy.