Navy hailed for checkmating economic saboteurs

Raphael Ede

The Centre for Education Reform Initiative (CREI), a non-governmental organisation, has lauded Nigerian Navy in her efforts to protect the economic interest of the nation by cracking down on oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
The commendation was contained in a statement issued yesterday by the executive director of CREI, Hon Chinwe Ugwu, in Enugu.
Ugwu said the Navy had been playing a commendable role in strengthening the security of Nigeria and protecting its economy from the damaging activities of oil thieves and pipeline vandals.

She said: “Records from the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) indicate that between January and March 2014 oil theft has reduced from 2.5 million barrels to 1.25 barrels, thereby given credence to the efforts of the NN to wipe out the menace of oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
“It is commendable that the Nigerian Navy has not only been alive to its duty of protecting the territorial waters of the country but has also been consistently deploying its personnel to combat economic saboteurs who are bent on pilfering the nation’s oil wealth.”
She praised the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin, for the recent deployment of the Nigerian Navy platform to the critical areas where the illegalities of stealing crude oil occur, adding that “with this development, the CNS has signalled his readiness to give the Navy the right leadership to serve the nation much better.”

She noted that with the zeal the CNS was driving the reform agenda, the NN would in due course attain and sustain high level of professionalism in line with the current global military standards.
On the announcement of the CNS that the NN personnel would soon commence training on counter terrorism, the CREI executive director described the action as “a welcome development which has portrayed Rear Admiral Jibrin as a responsive and responsible officer capable of leading the NN to achieve set goals.”