I’ll Treat Illegal Refinery Operators Worse Than Boko Haram Terrorists, Says Wike

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has vowed to treat persons behind illegal refineries worse than the way Boko Haram terrorists are handled in the North.

The governor said he would not allow such persons to keep causing great health hazard to residents in the state and destroying the national economy.

Wike spoke when he received the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor at Government House in Port Harcourt yesterday.

He told Irabor the importance of the war against illegal crude oil refinery activities, saying the proceeds from the oil and gas sector sustained the country.

Wike said: “I have declared this fight as the war against terrorism. I will treat them (operators of illegal refineries) worse than Boko Haram, because they are stealing from our economy and killing our people.

“You and I know that one product we have today that has kept this country going is oil and gas, which I will say is the main source of our revenue in this country today.

“And so we must as a people, as a government, it doesn’t matter whichever faction you may be or whichever divide you may be or you may find yourself. What is important, you must defend any of our national assets.

“I will do anything within my powers to see that it is put to stop. I owe it a duty, first by making sure that government is not losing revenue.

“Whenever we lose national revenue, it trickles down. It affects us at the state and local government levels. So, that is on the revenue aspect of it.

“I am willing to fight it and will continue to fight it. Some people are trying to politicise it; that you are doing it against certain ethnic group. That can’t change me; it doesn’t matter.”

The governor said in his meeting with traditional rulers and other stakeholders, he warned that nobody indicted as operator of illegal refinery would escape the full wrath of the law.

He assured that his administration was ready to give the security agencies necessary logistics support in the war against the menace.

He said that some major sites had been identified and what was required was for adequate security protection to be given to all persons assigned to destroy the sites.

Wike told the Chief of Defence Staff to give his officers and men final directives to join the Rivers State Government in the fight.

In his remarks, Gen. Irabor said he was in Port Harcourt as part of his tour of military formations in the Niger Delta to assess security strategies and to also motivate officers for greater efficiency.

He expressed delight over the audacity shown by Wike in championing the fight against illegal crude oil refinery activities that had been a great threat to the oil and gas industry.

He said the military had long desired such government-focused strategy towards the security of oil and gas asset and hoped that other governors would emulate it.