Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has warned that private individuals and groups should not be allowed to execute oil pipeline surveillance contracts, independent of the supervision of conventional security agencies in the country.
To this end, the governor has called on the Federal Government to review its policy of using non-state actors in its effort to secure the maritime environment of the country.
Governor Diri speaking when he received the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, at the Government House in Yenagoa, said using unconventional security agents might cause greater security challenges in the future, and called for the strengthening of the Nigerian Navy to perform its constitutional duty.
Represented by his deputy, Sen. Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the Governor pointed out that safeguarding the nation’s territorial waters was the exclusive preserve of the Nigerian Navy, hence the Navy must be supported in every way possible to enable it effectively secure oil and other critical national assets in the maritime domain.
According to him, already there had been reported cases of violation of human rights and security breaches by surveillance contractors in local communities around the state.
He said, “The cry of the Bayelsa State Government is that non-state actors are not the best to protect our oil assets. In the name of oil pipeline protection contracts, most of them violate the rights of our people in our localities.
“Let us not do things that we will regret as a country tomorrow. What the Federal Government is doing right now is like cutting the nose to spice the face. You don’t need to cut off your head because you have rotten teeth. You simply look for took brush. You will be surprised that we will get to a point where some of these non-state actors will start to challenge us.
“I will suggest that the Nigerian Navy should be allowed to play that role to protect our critical oil assets. The Federal Government should therefore rejig or reinvent its security strategy to securing these assets.”
The governor further applauded officers and men of the Nigerian Navy serving in the state for professionalism in discharging their duties and urged the Chief of Naval Staff to give recognition and rewards to the officers for their efficiency.
“Bayelsa State and the Nigerian Navy are one. The Navy is part of us, and we are part of the Navy. The naval officers in Bayelsa State are very professional in their duties, I have to commend them for that. They have helped make Bayelsa one of the safest states in Nigeria.”
Earlier, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogala, said the Nigerian Navy could not do without Bayelsa State given the state’s strategic location and the critical oil and gas facilities domiciled in the Niger Delta.
Ogalla also called on oil-producing communities, particularly coastal communities, to see the Navy as a friend and to show cooperation in the provision of credible information to curb criminality in the state.
“Bayelsa and the Nigerian are partners because Bayelsa is in the core of the Niger Delta. Bayelsa holds a lot of resources in oil and gas, and the protection of these assets is a key role of the Navy. The Navy’s duty is to create an enabling environment for the oil companies to produce their maximum output, and there has been significant improvement so far in the last six months.”
