Ayiri Emami, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of A & E group, says oil theft in Delta state has gone down by 80 percent due to efforts of the communities.
He spoke to journalists after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Abuja on Monday.
According to Emami, oil-producing communities are working with the federal government to stop oil theft, adding that the region’s relevant stakeholders’ actions have made a significant difference in the decline in oil theft.
“Currently, I know from Delta, I can speak around Delta state that the issue of oil theft is drastically going down, it has reduced to about 80 to 90 percent because the company handling the job at the moment and some of us are involved and the job is being handled properly,” Emami said.
“To some extent, we’re doing good in Delta and some of these communities, the actors are being carried along. But we still want them to do more. Not just giving contracts these people need good roads, good water, electricity, and a good hospital.
“Once those things are in place in those environments…you won’t believe if you go to somewhere like Escravos to get to the shore is a problem. So we need to sit down with the PIA, we need to sit down to see what we can do.”
Emami, said fighting criminality in the Niger Delta without putting in place infrastructure in the region will not achieve any results.
“I don’t think fighting all these criminality issues without putting in proper infrastructure, will work, it won’t work. But telling the President you need to do this as in view of some of us coming out to agitate strongly to tell our brothers that there is no need to go into breaking of pipelines,” he said.
“But we just need to do that, we just need to fix the communities because that is the place that lays the golden eggs but if you go to that place it is like hell. I really do my things in different ways, I go with protests.
“I will not encourage anybody to go and break federal government facilities or to go and break pipes.
“Once you do that the federal government will use that same money that they want to use to develop the place, they will use it to go and fix the pipe first. So Penny wise, Pound foolish.”
CONSTRUCTION OF WARRI TO ESCRAVOS ROAD, DREDGING OF KOKO PORTS
Speaking further on the purpose of his visit, Emami, who is also a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said he discussed the issues faced with the road from Warri to Escravos. Emami said the president had promised that once he was elected, he would ensure the road was constructed.
“So, I came here with the minister for Niger Delta so that they can put heads together on how that road can be constructed for us in which he gave a nod,” Emami said.
“He asked the minister to go and put up his memo and come back on how they can go about it. This is one of the issues.
“The other issues have to do with politics, personal issues, it has to do with the immediate environment in our area.
“You know, the Warri port has been an issue till date. And I complained to him about the pipe that is giving problems at the bar mouth.
“So he said he is going to get across to the GMD (group chief executive officer) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), so that they will sit, look at it on how they can relocate the pipe so that proper dredging can be carried out for vessel to flow into Warri. So those are basically the issues why I came to see him.”
On the issue of the port, Emami said he discussed the Warri port, Koko port, and Sapele port.
He said: “Once that pipe is sorted out because that’s where the problem is. If the pipes are not relocated, no matter the amount of dragging, or sweeping, it will still remain a problem.”
Emami added that those with facilities around the area have suffered a lot.
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