The Nigerian government has announced plans to restart oil production in Ogoniland after a 30-year hiatus
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, made the announcement on Thursday at a national summit organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to mark two years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
According to Mr Ribadu, oil production is expected to resume soon in the region.
“Oil production will soon resume in Ogoniland after over 30 years,” he said.
Mr Ribadu also said innovative security approaches by the administration have made the Niger Delta region of the country more secured, leading to an improvement in oil production.
He said with the overhaul of Operation Delta Safe, a joint operation of the nation’s security forces, oil theft, abduction of oil workers and vandalisation of oil infrastructure have drastically reduced.
The NSA said consequently, oil production rose to at least 1.8 million barrels per day this year while all pipelines in the region are now operational for the first time in several years.
Oil production-related infractions have also dropped by 47 percent while 1,978 illegal refineries were dismantled, he said.
The NSA said security operatives also destroyed 3,849 dugout pits and 3,773 illegal cooking ovens within the period under review.
“Because of the steps taken, Nigeria is now off the global piracy-prone list,” Mr Ribadu said.
He explained that following the general improvement in security in the Niger Delta region, the Federal Government began exploring options for the resolution of the intractable Ogoni crisis, which led to the suspension of oil production in the area 30 years ago.
Follow Us on Facebook – @LadunLiadi; Instagram – @LadunLiadi; Twitter – @LadunLiadi; Youtube – @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Okay