The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas has urged Nigerians to support the military with prayers to overcome security challenges posed by Boko Haram and those at sea.
He said he and other Service Chiefs will not disappoint the nation in tackling insurgency in the country.
Ibas, who made the plea at a thanksgiving service at the First Baptist Church in Area 11, Abuja, on Sunday said it was God who had seen him to the top of his career.
“As a nation, we are undergoing security challenges both at sea and in the North-East. While the military is doing its best to address these challenges, Nigerians need to support us with prayers to bring insurgency to an end.
“We will not let this nation down until these challenges are curtailed. We all have to pray to God to assist us to bring up young men and women who will be productive,”Ibas.
Tag: Naval Chief
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Boko Haram: We need prayers to win the battle, says Naval chief
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How we’re battling crude oil theft, by Naval chief,
About 90 illegal vessels have been arrested by the Navy between last year and this year, Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) , Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Sanmi Alade has said.
Fifty three were seized last year while 37 vessels have been impounded this year.
He said the Navy was committed towards ending illegality at sea in Lagos.
Alade spoke at the opening ceremony of Obangame Express 2014 at the Western Naval Command headquarters, Lagos. The FOC told the participants that based on adequate preparations put in place, he was optimistic that the exercise will be successful.
According to him, about 23 countries across the world were taking part in the games, adding that the espionage was not envisaged since the exercise is multi-national.
On the effect the games would have in the fight against crude oil theft, Alade said the Navy would derive a lot of benefits, and more gains would be consolidated.
Also, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin assured the participants of Obangame Express 2014 of their safety and security throughout the duration of the multinational sea exercise in the Gulf of Guinea.
He said all modalities have been put in place to ensure a hitch-free exercise.
He said the Navy was engaging its available platforms to combat crude oil theft, adding that the objective of the exercise, which began on April 10, is to improve maritime interdiction capability and power projection.
Represented by Chief of Policy and Plans, Rear Admiral Ameen Ikioda, Jibrin said securing the “living and non-living resources” on the Gulf of Guinea has continued to pose a major challenge to Nigeria and other maritime nations in the axis.
He said Nigeria’s collaboration with international partners especially the US and other maritime nations will go a long way in securing the Gulf of Guinea.
“Regrettably securing those resources on the Gulf of Guinea have continued to pose a major challenge not only to Nigeria but also to maritime nations in the region.
In her remark, the Exercise Director, Captain Nancy Lacore said this year’s Obangame Express witnessed 400 per cent increase in participation.
“This high level of participation is indicative of the regional cooperation that has been building in the Gulf of Guinea, cooperation that we hope to solidify at the operational level as a result of this exercise.
“Every nation represented here today plays a critical role in regional maritime security and we all know that no single nation alone can ensure safe maritime operations.
“It is through exercises such as Obangame that nations can work together to lay the foundation for the regional cooperation that will ensure the safety and security of military, commercial and civilian operations at sea.
“Obangame Express is designed to enhance tactical and operational maritime security capabilities. This exercise will also improve international and interagency coordination for responding to maritime threats. And, for the first time, OE will enable the region to operate under the construct of a multi-national force.
Over the next several days, we will be boarding ships, responding to medical casualties, and standardizing communications between maritime operations centers. We will be busy,” she said.
On their part, the 200 delegation Turkish Navy, which is visiting Nigeria for the first time since 1866 expressed excitement to be part of the exercise.
The team led by Turkish Ambassador, Mustafa Pulat and Admiral of Southern Region, Vice Admiral Hasan Usakilogu said aside joining in the fight against piracy, their presence in Nigeria will enhance both nations’ bilateral relationship.
Addressing reporters onboard Turkish vessel TCG ORUCREIS (F245), Admiral Usakilogu said that while piracy at the Gulf of Eden was reducing, the vice was on the rise at the Gulf of Guinea.
He said of 25 cases of piracy at sea recently recorded, 23 occurred at the Gulf of Guinea region, which calls for multinational approach in tackling.
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Navy is winning war against crude oil theft, says Naval chief
The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS ), Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, yesterday said the Navy was winning the war against crude oil theft.
Vice Admiral Ezeoba, who spoke at a Naval information management workshop in Lagos, organised by the Naval Training Command, NAVTRAC, said there has been a general decline in illegalities at seas.
Represented by the Flag Officer Commanding, (FOC), Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Ibok Ete-Ibas, Ezeoba praised the media for its role and support, noting that the media are force multipliers in modern warfare.
“Our recent efforts and the resultant gains in combating illegalities in our waters confer a duty on our friends in the media to generate the much needed public awareness of what the service is doing in ensuring sanity in our maritime environment.
“This is also a shared responsibility on the part of the Nigerian Navy information personnel, who must develop capacity for leveraging the media for all facet of the force’s operations, “ he said.
Admiral Ezeoba said that the Navy was undergoing massive transformation covering policies, progresses and infrastructural development including platform acquisition, barracks rehabilitation, training and welfare.
At the workshop themed: “Effective media management in support of naval operations” were the FOC, NAVTRAC, Rear Admiral Azubuike Ajuonu; President, Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Femi Adesina; Nigerian Defence Spokesman, Gen. Chris Olukolade; premiere Director, Naval information, Commodore Olatunde Oladimeji (rtd), as well as academias, Dr. Josef Bel-Molokwu and Dr. Mande Samalia, among others.
Delivering a paper on “The social media as tool of information management in the Nigerian Navy”, Bel-Molokwu, said there are 5.1 billion search on the internet daily, urging the force to take advantage of the social media and social networking in building its image.
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How to stop oil theft, by Naval Chief, others
Stakeholders in the oil and gas sector yesterday converged on Lagos to proffer solutions to incessant oil theft and illegal bunkering that has ravaged the economy.
Speakers at the conference, with the theme, Oil theft and illegal bunkering in the Niger Delta, organised by the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Kingsley Kuku, said the oil companies were major perpetrators of the act.
They said lack of political will to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators, poor legislation, and the insensitivity of both the government and multinationals to the plight of the people of the region were some of the reasons behind the surge in the pilferage.
Participants who decried the non-availability of refined petroleum products in the region, stated that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has lost control of overseeing how oil and gas is produced.
They insisted that those who wreck the economy were not the petty thieves usually caught with kegs, but multinationals and businessmen who own tank farms and use ships and barges to steal products in large quantities, with the aid of various agencies.
The participants called for the removal of the five per cent charge at the export loading terminals, saying that international best practices should be adopted.
At the event were the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba; Direcotor-General, Nigerian. Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi; Commander, Operation PULO SHIELD, Gen. Bata Debiro; panal chair, Prof. G.G. Darah; Commandant, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr. Ade Abolurin; Coordinator, Oil Watch International, Nnimmo Bassey and Kingsley Kuku.
Others include former Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Timi Alaibe; Community leaders from the region, Che Ibegwura, T.K. Ogoriba, Prof. Kingsley Alagba and Chief Dan Ekpebedemi as well as General Secretary (PENGASSAN), Bayo Olusede.
Although Debiro in his presentation disclosed that a total of 13, 945 drums of illegal crude, 861 boats and 51 tankers, have been destroyed in the last quarter, with 1, 965 illegal refineries destroyed daily and 24 vessels arrested, participants faulted the Joint Task Force’s (JTF’s) destruction of the exhibits, describing the practice as dangerous to the environment.
They reiterated their call on the multinational oil firms to relocate their headquarters to the Niger Delta region, as well as ensure that youths are not only given scholarships, but given employment.
In his welcome address, Kuku said a report commissioned by his office indicated that oil theft and illegal artisanal refining of oil was so widespread that it stifles the traditional community life.
He said in some communities, oil theft has outstripped fishing and farming as a contributor to community Gross Domestic Product, adding that the illegal business was already undermining our social structures.
He warned that if allowed to fester, the trade would turn the Niger Delta into gang land, saying that already, people in the chain of oil theft, are feared, revered or even admired as people who are doing well as prominent international oil traders by the unsuspecting public.
Kuku said the vicious cycle of vandalism, detection repair, and back to vandalism is what results into the estimated loss, adding that it is difficult to correctly estimate how much is actually stolen.
“This bleeding of our economy must stop so that we can earn more to fund development all over the country. This bleeding must stop so that the Niger Delta people can fulfil their full economic potential,” Kuku siad.
On his part, Ezeoba said it was time for the various stakeholders to come to equity with clean hands as posterity will judge all those engaging in criminality. He said the biggest theft occurs at the export loading terminals, noting that Nigeria was the only country where every vessel loads a caveat of +5 per cent.
The Naval chief blamed the oil companies for living pipelines unprotected and pushing the blames to the government and communities.
He said: “In this country, oil companies have provided enabling environment for criminality to thrive. They should as a matter of urgency, put in place structures that ensure proactivity and not reactionary measures.
“There is disconnect in the area of enforcement and prosecution. Until recently that the Minister for Justice rose to the occasion, there has been no sanity in the system as people are not properly sanctioned,” he said.
For a solution, Ezeoba called for reduction of capacity gap in the armed forces, saying the processes should be redefined beginning from oil companies to enthrone transparency and accountability.
“The companies should start putting in place the use of technology to ensure pipelines security and integrity. Also, they should clearly establish the right of way of pipelines, such that anyone caught trespassing will be held liable.
“It is their responsibility to ensure the needs of the people are met, as well as give them a sense of belonging; they should without delay, ensure the environmental resuscitation of the Niger Delta, while the oil majors should as a matter of urgency, review their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).”
Also, he said the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), should be passed without delay, as the proposed bill would restore hope to Nigerians.
He said government should ensure that the Mega Filling Stations in the Niger Delta are functional and that new ones should be built so that the people can have access to the product.
Dabiro who acknowledged that the burning of arrested illegal products constitute environmental pollution, noted that the JTF should ensure that destructions are carried out far from residential areas.
He said there is need to increase the 6, 102 personnel in the JTF to carryout its mandate in the Niger Delta as well as provide it with equipment to function effectively.
The NSCDC boss called for stiffer punishment to all offenders, saying Council has handed over 87 cases to the Attorney General for prosecution.
Akpobolokemi said it was insincerity, greed and lack of honesty by government officials, oil companies and communities that has brought the country to this level.
“Until we are prepared to change our attitudes, nothing will happen. Steadily, illegally sourced products are taken to the Lagos area and droped into tank farms. Are there no owners of these tank farms? Have we made efforts to arrest or prosecute them? he asked.
He said activities around the oil industry has brought mental laziness,but said he was pleased with the efforts of the President to bring sanity into the industry.