07 My 2013, Lagos – Immediate past president of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Peter Akpatason, says security agencies in the country should be held responsible for the increasing rate of theft of the nation’s crude oil.
Akpatason, who is curently a member of the House of Representative, said no theft of crude would be possible without the connivance of security agencies.
Akpatason spoke in Lagos, advising against further politicisation of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, as he warned that it was not in the interest of the nation.
According to him, the continued procastination on the PIB would do nobody any good.
According to him, “Crude oil theft is not possible without the connivance of the security agencies. It is just not possible because petroleum tanker is not a small object. It is large enough for anybody to see from anywhere. Barges are not small and ships are not small, but these are the instruments they use in carting crude away.
There is no how you can tell me that without the backing of security agencies, illegal bunkering can take place. It is not possible. It is under the watch, protection and cover of security agencies that those criminals perpetrate their act. So, you cannot divorce those who are giving cover from the act of crude oil theft. If you are protecting those that are stealing, you are equally a thief. That is what is happening in the industry.”