· Company silent on attack
· Ijaw youths give condition for peace
· Crude oil price hits $50 per barrel
· Kachikwu says FG has no plan to privatise refineries
Alike Ejiofor in Lagos, Chineme Okafor in Abuja and Sylvester Idowu in Warri with agency report
Niger Delta militants again last night bombed Chevron’s crude oil pipeline located at Abiteye in Warri South West Local Government of Delta State, forcing the company to shut in crude oil output from some fields in the western Niger Delta SLB check on Thursday revealed that the militants, who arrived the spot about 10 pm in two boats, bombed the crude oil pipeline, the company’s major trunk used to convey oil for export.
Army and Navy personnel deployed in the area, according to sources, put up no resistance to the attack.
Industry sources said the attack was a major blow to the operations of Chevron, projecting that the company might reduce drastically its activities as a result of the incident.
No group has, however, claimed responsibly but it is believed in security and industry circles that it was carried out by the Niger Delta Avengers.
Yesterday’s incident was the third in three weeks by the militants on Chevron facilities.
Industry sources could not disclose the volume of crude oil that was shut in but THISDAY gathered that the incident might also affect an early supply of crude oil to the Warri refinery operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Chevron was, however, silent about the incident yesterday as the company’s spokeswoman in the United States told Reuters that it was against company policy to comment on the safety and security of personnel and operations.
Also when contacted on his mobile phone, Chevron Nigeria’s General Manager in charge of Policy, Government and Public Affairs (PGPA), Mr. Deji Haastrup, told THISDAY that the company would not respond to the attack
“We are not making any comments at this time,” Haastrup said.
But as the nation contemplates the adverse impact of the militants’ violent activities on the mainstay of the nation’s economy, Ijaw youths said yesterday in Warri that the first condition for peace to return to the Niger Delta region was the opening of the Maritime University, Okerenkoko in Delta State for academic activities, adding that it was the basis for further discussions with the federal government on the cessation of hostility.
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) President, Udengs Eradiri, made the declaration at Effurun, near Warri, Delta State during the 2016 annual Major Isaac Boro anniversary celebration with the theme, “The ideals of Adaka Boro and the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta: The way forward”.
“If they want us to talk, they must first open the Maritime University and start admitting students, then we would now sit and talk,” he said, adding: “The same issues for which Adaka Boro and Ken Saro-Wiwa were killed are the same issues the Avengers are raising. There are no Avengers anywhere. Settle these issues and the Avengers would fizzle away.”
The lead speaker at the event, Tony Uranta, said Boro and Ken Saro-Wiwa died fighting for the emancipation of the Niger Delta, the same reason he said led to the emergence of Asari Dokubo, Tompolo and others.
According to him, “But because Tompolo was taken out, new faces have come up. Government must reassure the people of the Niger Delta that it is not yet ready to terminate the Amnesty Programme as there are still a lot of people yet to go for training.
“If you don’t engage these people, you are building up an army of discontent and the government must restructure Nigeria to a true federalism.”
Rights activist from Niger Delta, Annkio Briggs, who was also a co-speaker, took a swipe at the federal government on the way and manner it handled the agitations of the region.
She said: “What the people of the Niger Delta region are asking for is self-determination. This is different from self-secession. We want to own our rresources
Credit: Thisday
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