Youths of the Host Communities Producing Oil, Gas and Pipeline Impacted States Council of Nigeria (HOSTCOM-Youths) have described as “commendable” the appointment of the Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District of Delta State, Senator Ned Nwoko as the Chairman, Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft.
According to the HOSTCOM-Youths, the appointment of Nwoko by the 10th Senate under the leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio is a game-changer for the entire oil and gas value chain in the nation’s oil industry.
The HOSTCOM-Youths under the leadership of the National President, Comrade Emmanuel Fiawei Pathfinder, said in a statement on Friday issued via electronic mail that the Senator Ned Nwoko-led Committee would salvage the nation’s oil and gas sector and the economic woes of the country.
Pathfinder said: “It will never be business as usual for the saboteurs, both locally and internationally, because the committee has already hit the ground running, and Nigerians will see what has never happened in the fight against oil and gas thieves no matter who they are.
“As a round peg in a round hole, Senator Nwoko’s underground strategies would take the oil thieves by surprise, and this would usher in lasting solutions in curbing the menace of crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and illegal bunkering activities in the creeks of Niger Delta region and the hinterlands.
“Senator Nwoko we know, is a man of courage and a master strategist, who has all it takes to rid the oil and gas sector of this ugly menace of sabotage by some devilish persons who have over the years stolen our common patrimony for their self-aggrandizement.
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“We must say that Senator Nwoko, a son of the Niger Delta, understands the region so deeply and has broad knowledge about the nefarious activities of these plunderers of our national wealth, and knows how to marshal out his strategies to change the ugly narrative in the oil and gas sector.”
He said Nwoko’s appointment is highly commendable by all and sundry due to his pedigree and sagacity as a patriotic, detribalised, and true Nigerian leader who has distinguished himself in serving the nation with national conscience.
Pathfinder further said: “We also want to assure Nigerians that Senator Nwoko’s 100 days in this saddle will end oil theft and would be resounding and reverberating because we have seen the writing on the wall already.
“His leadership will bring about a stupendous growth and development of the oil and gas sector in no distant time as he has already commenced the job by leading a courtesy visit to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, seeking a partnership with the military to curb the menace. He has also set up and inaugurated a surveillance team for overt and covert operations on oil facilities and institutions.
“Interestingly, the committee has called for strengthening of intelligence-sharing mechanisms, surveillance operations and fostering seamless inter-agency collaboration to dismantle the complex networks behind crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region and across the international borders.”