Posted by 9jabook.com on December 16, 2009 at 1:59am
JTF closes 600 illegal ‘refineries’ in N’Delta
By Olamilekan Lartey, Yenagoa and Obinna Ezeobi, Abuja, Published: Wednesday, 16 Dec 2009
The Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta raised the alarm on Tuesday that illegal refineries might soon spread to areas outside the oil rich region.
The JTF Commander, Maj.-Gen. Sarkin Bello, gave the warning after his men destroyed over 600 illegal refineries in different parts of the Niger Delta.
Bello said that intelligence and overfly reports had indicated that there were over 1,000 illegal refineries in different parts of the Niger Delta.
The JTF boss said the rising wave of illegal refineries was of great concern because of the economic and environmental impact on the nation.
He said, “It is a new menace with grave dimensions. Since people now know what people do with crude oil, it may move to other parts of the country where there are oil installations, don‘t be surprised.”
Bello said before now, kidnapping was restricted to the Niger Delta, but that it had spread to every part of the country.
According to him, ”Illegal oil refining is like any other crime, it mutates as the criminals try to find other means of livelihood.”
He stressed that aerial photographs had shown vast areas of devastation as a result of the activities of the illegal bunkerers and refinery operators.
”I can‘t see how such areas can be useful in the near future with the level of degradation,” he said.
Bello added that operating illegal refineries was an economic crime that involved people from all levels in society and not necessarily ex-militants.
The JTF commander, however, urged those engaged in illegal refineries ”to re-channel their talents to legitimate endeavours that will benefit not only themselves, but their communities and the nation at large.”
He said the JTF’s Operation Restore Hope would continue to destroy illegal refineries and arrest their operators anywhere they were found in the country.
Our correspondent learnt that between October and December 2009, the JTF identified and destroyed 600 illegal refineries.
Meanwhile, petrol stations across the country must henceforth fill the tanks and disregard the order to sell a maximum of N2,000 worth of fuel to private cars and N1,000 to commercial bus drivers, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, ordered on Tuesday.
The shortage of petroleum products in some parts of the country had been compounded by the directive by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to ration the quantity of petrol to be sold to motorists, a situation which forces car owners to return to refill frequently.
Speaking after taking a tour of several filling stations across the Abuja metropolis, Ajumogobia regretted the persisting queues in filling stations despite claims by the NNPC that there was adequate petrol in the country.
Ajumogobia said, “I came to personally assess what is going on. All the people around me tell me that there is enough fuel and yet I see queues. I am going to investigate who gave the authorisation for the rationing. When you ration it means there is not enough supply.”
He stressed that rationing of petrol did not make sense, wondering why an individual should wait for hours and then be subjected to buying only N1,000.
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