FG Chasing Shadows On Crude Oil Theft In Niger Delta – Siasia 

Siasia made this comment in a statement delivered in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, August 10, 2022.

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

In an effort to combat the epidemic of crude oil theft in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta Region, Moses Siloko Siasia, Chairman of the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF) and Convener of Niger Delta Young Professionals, has said that the Federal Government is chasing shadows.

He said that the region’s governors had disregarded the crucial aspect of “human infrastructure” development in favor of constructing public facilities that would not necessarily have an influence on the lives of the region’s thronging young population.

In light of the government’s alleged failure to invest in enhancing the capacity of young people, he claimed that this may make it challenging to put a stop to oil theft in the area.

In a statement released in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, on August 10, 2022, Siasia made this comment. He did so in light of a recent visit by a team from the Nigerian government to certain governors in the area.

Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Gen. Lucky Irabor, Chief of the Defence Staff, and Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited led the team from the Federal Government.

The NYPF Chairman criticized the nation’s political class, who are widely acknowledged to be the main perpetrators of the criminality, and claimed that they were “using young people to fulfill their evil obligations.”

He said, “Government in the region have been focusing on infrastructure, and forgetting the important element of human infrastructure.

“There must be a deliberate cut out strategy to see how sustainable jobs can be created.

“Over the years we have been advocating and carrying out programmes and encouragement for young people, mostly MSME owners. We foresaw all these things happening from several years ago. We spoke about it and nobody listened.

“It is unfortunate that some of the institutions in the region that are saddled with the task to carry out interventions, have failed in their responsibilities,” he lamented.

Therefore, Siasia advised that the establishment of a strong framework for the deliberate employment and engagement of youths, as well as the creation of a robust entrepreneurship and skill acquisition program for young people in the region, are the two most effective ways to stop oil theft in the region.

He praised the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for their enormous contributions to the improvement of human capacity development in the country and, by extension, the region, but urged the government to purposefully direct resources toward enhancing the capacity of young people.

The head of NYPF expressed concern that unfairness, theft, and poor management of public resources have been ingrained in society and a way of life, noting that there would not be normality in a dysfunctional environment and that between 70 and 75 percent of youngsters in the region are idle.

“The youths are left with no choice than to take their destiny in their hands.

“No jobs, no scholarships, no sustainable youth engagement programs, no skills acquisition centres, no sports development centres, no well equipped youth hubs, no entrepreneurship development centres, no grants or incentives for small businesses, no reward system.

“Today, Nigerian Government and Officials are busy looking for solutions because the country is losing alot of revenue as a result of Oil Theft.

“Oil theft, kidnapping and criminality will remain Inevitable if we don’t focus more on building and engaging our youths in creating sustainable livelihood,” he added.

A Niger Delta Summit for Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) was hosted by the Siasia-led NYPF in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in February 2021, and a follow-up event was conducted in Asaba, Delta State, in February of this year. Both programs actively increased the entrepreneurship skills of thousands of young people in the area.

The Nigerian government has battled to stop oil theft throughout the years. The consequence was a startling $1 billion loss in income for Nigeria in the first quarter of 2022, putting the continent’s biggest producer’s economy in jeopardy.

Gbenga Komolafe, the chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, just released these numbers.