A member of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly representing Brass Constituency 1 on the platform of All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Israel Sunny- Goli, has cautioned youths in the Niger Delta region against sabotaging oil facilities.
Sunny-Goli said rather than sabotage oil facilities, youth in the region should support the efforts of the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu and President Muhammadu Buhari to reposition the oil industry.
He said the current administration was waging war against corruption that had afflicted the oil industry over the years.
He, therefore, pledged to mobilize the people of his constituency and the Niger Delta to support Buhari’s efforts to sanitize the oil industry.
He also promised that his team would assist the relevant authorities with useful information that would expose economic saboteurs in the coastal communities of the region.
Sunny-Goli, who is the Minority leader and House Committee Chairman on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), spoke in Yenagoa, the state capital at the weekend.
According to the lawmaker, Mr. Kachikwu had demonstrated commitment in reforming the oil sector since his appointment as the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Minister of State for Petroleum.
He insisted that the people of the region would be the greatest beneficiaries of a reformed oil sector in terms of development and empowerment.
He said: “President Muhammadu Buhari has provided another opportunity to re-position the oil industry through Dr Ibe Kachikwu and we the people of the Niger Delta especially in Bayelsa must support the efforts of the current administration.
“The recent decision to build mega filling station in each senatorial district is a welcome development. Aside the fact that it would ensure efficient distribution and country-wide penetration of petroleum products, for us in coastal communities of Bayelsa state it is a welcome development as we would now have access to petroleum products.
“Also the decision to discuss and negotiate with international oil companies and banks to raise capital for new drilling which would raise Nigeria’s output to 2.5 million barrels per day is a laudable idea which the people of the region must support.
“The discussions with oil majors on how to revamp oil assets like refineries and decisions to advertise for concessions for pipelines and depots are progressive ideas which the people of the Niger Delta have yearned for over the years.
“More importantly the discussions with the National Assembly on the need to speed up the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which oil communities would benefit from is what every Niger Deltan should support”.
On pipeline vandalism and attack on oil facilities, Sunny-Goli commended the recent moves by the Federal Government to mobilize the military to prevent sabotage, just as he called on other security agencies to collaborate with the military to rid the Niger Delta region of economic saboteurs.
