Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, YEAC-Nigeria, has proffered solutions to oil theft and other organised crimes in the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Guinea.
The solutions, according to YEAC-Nigeria, include setting up of a multinational Taskforce with other countries in the Gulf of Guinea, establishment of Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative, PACORDI, setting up of coast guard and issuance of licences to 18 modular refineries approved by the previous administration.
These were contained in a communique released by the centre on Thursday and meant for President Bola Tinubu. This came from the national conference on organised crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea and the official launch of the network on organised crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea, NOCINAG, by YEAC-Nigeria in Port Harcourt.
Executive Director of YEAC Nigeria, Mr Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, explained that the solutions contained in the 19 recommendations submitted to President Tinubu and other relevant Ministries, Department and Agencies, if implemented will mitigate organized crimes in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.
Fyneface said YEAC-Nigeria has been at the forefront of the campaign against pipeline vandalism, oil theft, artisanal refineries and pollution, hence it was imperative to submit the communiqué directly to the President as certain recommendations against organized crime require the Federal Government to liaise with other countries in the Gulf of Guinea through the Gulf of Guinea Commission.
The group’s recommendations are: “The establishment of a Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative, PACORDI, proposed by YEAC-Nigeria for the innovation, legalization and integration of artisanal refineries into the national economy as a corresponding organized crime mitigation mechanism for artisanal crude oil refiners in the Niger Delta, like illegal gold miners in parts of North and Western Nigeria which the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative, PAGMI, was established to mitigate organized crime in gold mining.
“Immediate issuance of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s approved 18 modular refineries licenses for artisanal refiners in the Niger Delta to mitigate organized crime and support sustainable youth empowerment.
“Partnership with other Presidents in the Gulf of Guinea for the establishment of an effective taskforce against organized crime to be known as Taskforce Against Organized Crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea, TAOCINAG.
“A presidential directive to every security and intelligence agency to collaborate with YEAC-Nigeria on the Network on Organized Crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea, NOCINAG, as a multi-stakeholder and civil-security relations’ intelligence gathering platform that generates information, data, intelligence for sharing with security formations to strengthen the fight against organized crime in the Niger Delta, Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.
“Immediate establishment of a coast-guard mechanism to be known as Nigeria Coast and Boarder Guards, that will collapse all government-private security arrangements into a supportive maritime and borderline security mechanism against organized crime especially crude oil theft and illegal bunkering while also working to mitigate the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, to strengthen homeland security efforts.”
While commending President Bola Tinubu for reviewing the proposal for possible integration of artisanal refineries operations into the national economy, which is the doctrine of PACORDI proposed by YEAC-Nigeria, Fyneface called on the President to establish PACORDI as the blueprint and ideas required for its effective take-off were already set out by YEAC-Nigeria.
He also called on all other stakeholders, including local and international development partners, to support the work, projects, and programmes of YEAC-Nigeria as a think-tank on organised crime mitigation mechanisms in the Niger Delta, Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.
