The Nigerian Navy has credited the combined efforts of its personnel and other security agencies for a significant reduction in oil theft in the Niger Delta region, resulting in increased oil production for the country.
The Commander of NNS PATHFINDER, Commodore Desmond Igbo, shared this development with journalists after the officers’ 2nd quarter route march held in Port Harcourt over the weekend. He highlighted the importance of such exercises in maintaining the fitness and readiness of naval officers.
“This exercise we did it in the first quarter in March this year. It is the Nigerian Navy quarterly Road March. This is the second quarter,” Commodore Igbo explained. “In the military, as you know, fitness is very important. So, the Nigerian Navy finds it essential that our officers and men go on road marches, which is a form of exercise.”
Reflecting on the recent march, Igbo noted, “Behind me are our men. We went almost 12 kilometers, and all of us came back complete, nobody dropped on the way. That shows you how fit we are to carry out our duties, especially the anti-bunkering duties.”
Commodore Igbo emphasized the necessity for security officers to always be prepared to tackle criminal activities in the country. “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, we have reduced the incidence of oil theft in the Niger Delta.”
He continued, “We have reduced the incidence of oil theft by 90 percent and we are ready to reduce it to 100 percent, if God wills. The oil production has increased. When we came in, it was about 1.1 million barrels per day, and now we are talking about close to 1.7 million barrels per day. This we achieved in collaboration with other security agencies.”
Igbo also urged officers and men of PATHFINDER to maintain their fitness to effectively discharge their duties. “To God be the glory again, my men have not been found wanting in oil theft because we have our Extant Laws. If they do, we will deal with them decisively, and we have told them to refrain from all forms of compromise.”
He stressed, “That is the charge the Chief of Naval Staff gave us. He will not tolerate compromise, and we have pushed it down to the least personnel, especially in this NNS PATHFINDER, Port Harcourt. None of them will involve in any form of criminality, they are aware of it and cannot do it under my watch.”
