From Douglas Blessing, Port Harcourt
A group, Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to order the issuance of the 18 modular refinery licenses approved for Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Cross River, Edo and Rivers states, as a way of mitigating organized crimes in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea,
The group pleading that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government should ensure the licenses are released before leaving office in May, also asked Buhari to reach out to his counterparts in the Gulf of Guinea and immediately establish a Taskforce against organized crimes in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.
The Executive Director of YEAC, Mr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, made the appeal in his address on Friday, at the National Conference on “Organized Crimes in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea” held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Speaking, Fyneface also urged the federal government make real all its promises to the youths and people of the Niger Delta.
He said instead of pipeline surveillance contracts, the government should provide alternative livelihood opportunities for those displaced by the war against artisanal refining
He explained that organized crime thrives because security agencies who are supposed to expose it are involved, aiding, abetting and refusing to say something when they see something.
Some of the demand includes “Issue the 18 Modular refinery licenses already approved for Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Cross River, Edo and Rivers states. I hereby reiterate the call for Ondo, Abia, and Imo States where pipeline vandalism, artisanal refining and associated environmental pollution is also on-going to be included among the states to be issued three modular refinery licences each to mitigate the on-going organized crime.
“Government should establish Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative (PACORDI) for illegal artisanal refiners in the Niger Delta the same way it established Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative (PAGMI) for illegal gold miners in parts of the north and western Nigeria.
“I call on security operatives posted to the Niger Delta to stop getting involved, aiding and abetting pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and artisanal refining that destroys our environment.
“I call on Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Ministry of Transportation, the Presidential Amnesty Programme and other relevant Ministries, departments and agencies of government to implement in full, the communiqué issued at the end of the Global Maritime Security Conference in Abuja in 2019.
“I call on the Gulf of Guinea Commission to strengthen its efforts in the coordination of member states and synergizing with non-state actors especially under the auspices of Network on Organized Crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea (NOCINAG) in the fight against organized crime in the region.
“I call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to reach out to its counterparts in the Gulf of Guinea and immediately establish a “Taskforce Against Organized Crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea (TAOCING)”
In his keynote speech, Prof Fidelis Allen, Head, Department of Political and Administrative Studies,
University of Port Harcourt, said there was urgent need for the government to act more decisively and commit itself to combating organized crime due to its scale, transnational nature, low resilience of countries, vulnerability of innocent people, and the impact it has on general security and development.
He insisted on a huge share of the problem in the Gulf of Guinea, pointing out that the region is known for playing a significant role and being of value to the world, when it comes to natural resources and accounting for at least 45% of the entire Sub-Saharan Gross Domestic Product.
