Minister of State for Petroleum Resource, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Monday, warned residents of Tarkwa Bay, in Lagos, host to the Atlas Cove Jetty, Nigeria’s biggest petroleum products reception that the community was at risk of possible acquisition by the Federal Government if they continued to shield pipeline vandals and oil thieves.
The minister, who issued the warning when he paid a visit to the community, told residents that they were also culpable in the criminal activities going on in the location.
Kachikwu, who expressed concern over the dilapidation of the national asset, noted that the jetty had assumed a prime spot for both local and international bunkering by vandalising the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC’s pipelines bearing refined petroleum products running across the island.
The Minister, who also doubles as the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, took a tour of the community and was taken aback by the level of the illegal activities being perpetuated by the vandals.
“What I have seen here today is amazing, very frustrating and an eye opener on the problem we are facing. I don’t think Nigerians understand the magnitude of the problems at hand; the more solution you bring in the more problems show up.
“This is a massive operation as you can see, it like a moving train where you can move two to three trucks using jerry cans and transport them through the water to different countries. This is a good discovery but the question is, how many more of this do we have to deal with? It is an eye opener but it’s very frustrating.”
He said the discovery of the hide-outs was made possible by the efforts of the extra security put in place by the government.
Noting that there was no immediate solution at hand, in view of the magnitude of the criminal activities, he however said solutions were a long term.
