FG commissions monitoring system to check crude oil theft, piracy

• Fuel scarcity looms in Lagos as IPMAN threatens strike March 15

The Federal Government has commissioned a project to check crude oil theft, illegal transfer at sea and piracy. The National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno, while commissioning the project called Nigerian Security Element Project 2 (NICEP) yesterday in Calabar, Cross River State said: “It is an attestation that the Federal Government is determined to stop illegalities in our waterways.”

The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ekwe Ibas said: “The need for this infrastructure became expedient because of high rate of crime at sea, and the decision to implement the ‘Falcon Eye’ system is to present detailed picture of Nigeria’s maritime domain.”

Ben Ayade, the state governor, thanked the government and the Navy for the project. He said: “Cross River has a maritime boundary that is critical to our survival and security is very important to us as this project is expected to cover 200 nautical miles.”

Meanwhile, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Lagos State chapter has threatened two-week warning strike over alleged exorbitant prices charged by depot owners.

The association has therefore given the Federal Government, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPRA) an ultimatum of two weeks; from March 1 to 15, 2017 to wade into the matter, failure of which its members would withdraw their services and shut down 2,000 fuel stations in Lagos and its environs.

IPMAN stated this in a statement sent to The Guardian by its chairman, Alhaji Ayo Alanamu, and General Secretary, Prince Kunle Oyenuga in Lagos, yesterday.

According to the association, members were expected to buy a litre of fuel at the rate of N133.28 kobo from the private depots owners and sell at N145 per litre to the public in accordance with the Federal Government’s directive.

IPMAN alleged that the depot owners have always ignored the directive to sell to fuel station owners at N141.00 per litre. The statement explained that if a litre of fuel is bought from the depots, it would cost N3.00 to transport it to filling stations, added to the expenses are payment of staff salaries, bank charges and interests and all other related expenses.