During an inspection of an unlawful plant in Delta State on Saturday, the state minister of petroleum made the statement.
Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), stated that the Federal Government is committed to stopping pipeline vandalism in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
“Pipeline vandalism is a concern, which is why we are here. After visiting an illegal facility in Delta State on Saturday, Lokpobiri declared, “I think it’s become an existential crisis, and we need to combat them; we need to beat these criminals to surrender.
“What is happening here is so awful that we might not even understand the implications until people start dying in large numbers; at that point, people will realise that a small number of people were making money off of this crime [and] that we are here to eliminate them all.
Therefore, we determined that we are going to put an end to it as a responsible government. To make sure that we put a stop to this insanity, we’re going to work with stakeholders.
Along with the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, and the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Lokpobiri was accompanied by his equivalent for gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo.
