A group, Ayudantes Empowerment Initiatives, has commended the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Chris Gwabin Musa over efforts in combating oil theft
At a press briefing on Friday in Abuja, the Executive Director of Ayudantes Empowerment Initiatives, Amechi Chuks Oyema, said recent Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reports say there is an increment in oil production in Nigeria, which the group attributed to ongoing military operations across the Niger-Delta.
He also attributed the improvement to efforts of the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Navy.
According to him “We are aware that the country has been plagued by a persistent problem of oil theft. This illegal activity has had severe consequences on the Nigerian economy, hindering growth, fostering corruption, and depriving the nation of much-needed resources for development.
“We are here to inform Nigerians that the July directive by the CDS is already yielding results.
“Recent OPEC reports say there is an increment in oil production in Nigeria. This group attributes it to ongoing military operations across the Niger-Delta.
“According to the report, “Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production rose by 3.4% to 1.352 million barrels in August according to the latest data published by OPEC.
“The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in its monthly oil market report for August reports that Nigeria’s crude oil production increased by 45 thousand barrels from 1.307 million barrels in July daily to the current figure.
“This in the eyes of the ordinary person may not be much, but it is a significant shift. Rather than going down, it is now coming up.
“For instance, oil theft directly impacts the quantity of foreign exchange accumulated in an oil-producing economy, which has a knock-on effect on the balance of payments (creating a deficit) and cost of debt service (which rises), thereby crowing out businesses from the financial market.
“Economic impacts of oil spills generally include cost of clean-up and compensation, damage to agricultural lands, fishery and wildlife. Social impact on the other hand includes community conflicts, violence and frustration which leads to militancy, reduction in tourism and hospitality industries.
“We therefore appeal to residents of the oil producing areas to support our military in this operations, which will positively affect our economy.
“We urge the CDS and his team to keep up the good works. Nigerians are looking up to them.”
