• ‘Nigeria Playing Stabilising Role In Africa’
• Accepts Sahrawi President’s To Attend Tinubu’s Inauguration
President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated that Nigeria remains committed to fighting crimes in the Gulf of Guinea.
The President noted that his administration remains committed to curbing piracy, armed robbery and other unlawful acts against any ship lawfully operating in the Gulf of Guinea.
He recalled that in 2019, he assented to the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act, 2019 (SPOMO Act).
The president made the remarks at a National Conference on Organised Crimes in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea organised by the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC) Nigeria in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
The President said: “I’m pleased with the successes being recorded in tackling piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. Nigeria remains committed to spearheading these efforts. Through the Deep Blue Project, launched in June 2021, Nigeria Government invested $195 million in security boats, vehicles and aircraft.
“In June 2019, I assented to the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act, 2019 (SPOMO Act), passed by the National Assembly, which aims to prevent and suppress piracy, armed robbery and other unlawful acts against any ship lawfully operating in the Gulf of Guinea.”
Earlier, stakeholders at the conference urged President Buhari to issue the 18 modular refinery licences already approved for Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Cross River, Edo and Rivers states before leaving office next month as a way of mitigating organised crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea,
They also urged the Federal Government to reach out to its counterparts in the Gulf of Guinea and immediately establish a “Taskforce Against Organised Crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.
Executive Director of YEAC, Fyneface Dumnamene, urged the Federal Government to make real all its promises to youths and people of the Niger Delta that could help mitigate organised crime in the region and the Gulf of Guinea.
He noted that instead of giving pipeline surveillance contracts, the government should provide alternative livelihood opportunities for those displaced by the war against artisanal refining, noting that organised crime thrives because security agencies who are supposed to expose it are involved; aiding, abetting and refusing to say something when they see something.
He said: “Issue the 18 Modular refinery licences already approved for Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Cross River, Edo, and Rivers states. I hereby reiterate the call for Ondo, Abia and Imo states where pipeline vandalism, artisanal refining and associated environmental pollution are also ongoing to be included among the states to be issued three modular refinery licences each to mitigate the ongoing organised crime.
“Government should establish Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative (PACORDI) for illegal artisanal refiners in the Niger Delta the same way it established Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative (PAGMI) for illegal gold miners in parts of the north and western Nigeria.
“I call on security operatives posted to the Niger Delta to stop getting involved, aiding and abetting pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and artisanal refining that destroys our environment.
“I call on Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Ministry of Transportation, the Presidential Amnesty Programme and other relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government to implement in full, the communiqué issued at the end of the Global Maritime Security Conference in Abuja in 2019.”
Meanwhile, President declared that Nigeria’s size and resources have imposed on her a stabilising role in the West African sub-region and the African continent as a whole.
Speaking after receiving a message from President Ibrahim Ghali of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) from a Special Envoy at the State House yesterday, President Buhari said peace and stability are central to the vision of Nigeria in Africa, adding that these were essential to security and prosperity in the continent.
He thanked the President of the Sahrawi Republic for the message he sent and gave an assurance that he will study its content and brief the in-coming President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on their concerns, urging the Special Envoy to make the effort to brief the in-coming President as well.
The Special Envoy, Mohammed Saleh, who was a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, now Minister of Diplomatic Affairs, recalled the role of President Buhari in 1983 as Military Head of State as being the first African leader to recognise the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, paving the way for its recognition by the Organisation of African Unity now African Union.
“History will not forget your important role in leading the fight for African freedom using money, arms and diplomacy in the African Union and the United Nations to secure independence for South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia for, without this, these nations would not have been free,” said the Envoy.
Ambassador Saleh expressed the sadness of his country in President Buhari leaving office and expressed the hope that the Tinubu government will maintain the same interest in the independence struggle.
He urged the President to continue to maintain relevance in the affairs of the SADR and that of the entire continent.
President Buhari accepted the request of the President of the Sahrawi Republic to participate in the inaugural events ushering in the new Nigerian President in May.
