By Our Correspondent
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has called for the involvement of Oil Producing Communities and other critical stakeholders in the fight against oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
President Goodluck Jonathan had in a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mr. Mark Rutte and the Chief Executive Officer of Shell International, Mr. Ben Van Beurden in Netherlands during the World Nuclear disclosed that the Federal Government had earmarked the sum of One Billion US Dollars to ensure the implementation of a programme to fight oil theft and vandalism of oil infrastructures in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria.
The President had said also that a Technical Committee had been set up to look into all aspects of the implementation of the programme.
This development has excited IYC, describing it as a welcome development.
IYC spokesman, Barrister Eric Omare told our correspondent in an interview said that ; “We gladly welcome the idea of the Federal Government in taking drastic and holistic approach to address the problem of oil theft in Nigeria considering the massive ecological damage that oil theft and vandalism of oil facilities has caused to the Niger Delta environment.”
But he stated that no programme to fight oil theft and oil infrastructures vandalism would be effective without the involvement of the people of the oil producing communities where the oil facilities are situated and other critical stakeholders in the Niger Delta region in the formulation and implementation of the programme.
According to him, “The problem of oil theft which is a fall out of the unresolved Niger Delta question (the question of resource ownership and management) cannot be resolved without the involvement of the people of the oil producing communities who are the primary stakeholders in the fight against oil theft and vandalism of oil infrastructures.”
Barrister Omare added that it was on record that the Federal Government Amnesty programme for Ex- Agitators in the Niger Delta succeeded because of the involvement of key stakeholders such as the IYC, state governments and other critical stakeholders in the Niger Delta Region in the conception and implementation.
He said; “However, this has not been the case with the fight against oil theft, hence the failure so far. It is in the light of the foregoing that the IYC, Worldwide wish to call on President Gooodluck Jonathan to involve the people of the oil producing Communities and other critical stakeholders from the onset in formulating policies with which to fight oil theft and vandalism of oil infrastructures. This is the only way such a programme can be successfully implemented.”
The IYC spokesman, therefore, called on President Jonathan to organize a Presidential Summit on oil theft which would involve the people of the oil producing communities and other critical stakeholders as the knowledge of the local people would be of immense benefit in finding solution to the menace of oil theft.
“The solution to oil theft cannot be found by office based technocrats. The solution lies with the people of the oil producing communities of the Niger Delta Region. The knowledge of those who know the operations of the syndicates involved in the act of oil theft is crucial in coming up with the appropriate policy. The IYC further call on the Technical Committee to organize public hearings to seek the views of members of the public especially the oil producing communities on how best to tackle the problem of oil theft and oil facilities vandalism,” he stated.
He also stated that any programme on oil theft without the involvement of the people of the oil producing communities and other critical stakeholders in the Niger Delta Region would not be successful in implementation and advised the federal government to borrow a leaf from the conception and implementation of the Niger Delta Amnesty programme in tackling the menace of oil theft and vandalism of oil infrastructures.
