Crude oil theft fight in Niger Delta yielding fruits, task force commander

The sustained war against crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region has led to increased oil production from 900,000bpd to two million bpd according to the Commander of the Joint Task Operation, Operation Delta Safe (OPDS), Rear Admiral Apochi Suleiman.

Suleiman who stated this while receiving an award of excellence from the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) at OPDS headquarters Igbogene, Bayelsa State, said the security situation in the region had improved compared to when he took over in 2016.

According to him OPDS under him adopted different security strategies that led to considerable reduction in the rate of vandalism of oil pipelines

Suleiman who said he decided to accept the award after it was cleared by the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, said peace is very central to the development of the Niger Delta region.

While restating the commitment of the OPDS to protecting Federal government asset and oil installations in the Niger Delta region, he said it would continue to put pressure on criminal elements to leave the region.

“The military has done the good job of keeping the nation one. By the time we took over the leadership of this operation, oil production in the country was about 900,000 bpd. As it is today, due to our activities, which has provided the enabling environment for business to thrive, oil production is now above 2.2 million barrels per day.

“This is about the third of this award I am getting; so I take this on behalf of my colleagues who jointly agreed to work together to achieve this.

“We promise to remain committed. We are challenged to sustain the tempo of our operational activities which will continue to put pressure on all illegal activities here so that the environment is safe for business to thrive.”

The National President of the NYCN, Isah Abubakar, who led the delegation, said the organisation was inspired by the giant strides made by the commander in returning peace to the Niger Delta.

Mr Abubakar urged the commander to find a way to reach out to his colleagues in the northern part of Nigeria due to the pervasive insecurity in the region, noting that kidnapping was fast becoming a huge business in the North.