Commander of the Joint Taskforce South-South “Operation Delta Safe”, Rear Admiral John Okeke has said the federal government is determined to curb illegal oil activities in the Niger Delta region.
Okeke announced this when he led a delegation of task force officers on a courtesy visit to Abia State Governor Alex Otti and solicited the government’s support.
“The government thought it wise to come up with the Joint Taskforce South South Operation Delta Safe with a mandate to protect oil and gas infrastructure and to stop militancy in the region,” he informed Otti.
He said their mandate also includes a campaign against sea robbery, crude oil theft and other forms of challenges that could have a negative economic impact on the region, with emphasis on the oil and gas sector.
In his response, Otti strongly condemned the presence and operations of illegal refineries in the state, urging the task force to treat their operators and sponsors as enemies of the country.
“Be they in Aba, Ukwa, Port Harcourt, Bayelsa or any of the other 10 states of the region. The long arms of the law must reach out for them to serve as a deterrent to others,” said the governor.
“For us, as government, we can’t support any forms of illegality by anybody irrespective of position. You can take it for granted that we will give you all the support you need to carry out your operation successfully,” he assured.
Otti also implored the task force to assist in providing security at the State Innovation and Industrial Park (AIIP), Owaza, Ukwa West local government and assured them of logistics support and intelligence sharing.
