N’Delta: FG set up committee on illegally refined crude oil
In a bid to block revenue leakages, the Federal Government, yesterday, inaugurated an Inter-Ministerial committee to tackle illegal refinery of crude oil in the Niger Delta region.
Members of the committee who took their oath at the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Salami, SAN, were drawn from the Ministry of Defence, Nigerian Army, Navy, Defence Headquarters, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Federal Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Environment, Department of Petroleum Resources and National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency.
Solicitor-General of the Federation, SGF and Permanent Secretary of the federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Umar Mohammed, who represented the SGF at the event, said the major mandate of the committee was “The recovery of illegally refined petroleum products (crude oil) in the dug up pits found around the creeks of Niger Delta.
According to him, “In line with the policy of the current administration on security and economy as well as the preservation of the environment from negative hazards.
“The office of the AGF and Minister of Justice, in collaboration with all stakeholders, have put in a mechanism for effective and efficient management of illegally refined products recovered from dug up pits found around the creeks of the Niger Delta”.
