Soldiers behind illegal oil bunkering, Rivers Governor tells army chief

The Governor of Rivers State, Simi Fubara has made what looks like a heavy complaint against soldiers working in the state to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja.

The governor, who received the Army boss in his office during a courtesy visit, said his administration was doing everything possible to curb illegal bunkering activities in the state, but that some officers of the Nigerian Army were allegedly possibly compromised in parts of Ahoada East and Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Areas.

Fubara said that the suspected officers were attached to a particular company in the Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area.

“One special problem that we have here is the issue of bunkering. In some parts of the state, in Ahoada East and Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni, most of the bunkering activities there, we believe, are subsisting because there is this cooperation between the Army and high-top oil companies.

Read also: Breast cancer threat increases in Rivers

“I’m saying this because there is this road we are constructing in Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni, and each time the contractors approach this particular company to solicit cooperation to enable them carry out their obligations, the military always attack the contractors,” he said.

Fubara said that he had tried to resolve the situation without success because of the vested interest that the officers allegedly had. He urged the Chief of Army Staff to look into the matter and call the officers to order.

“Carrying out some assignments with any company does not give any individual powers to decide how things should be done for the state,” he said.

He commended the Army and other security agencies in their efforts to maintain peace and security across the state.

In his remarks, the COAS said he was in Port Harcourt as part of a visit to formations and units under his command following his assumption of office. He thanked Governor Fubara for his continuous support, intervention and cooperation with the Army to perform its operations that have fostered peace and stability in the state.

The press statement issued from the Government Press Unit did not mention if the COAS promised he was going to address the complaints laid before him by the host governor.