BY IFEANYI UWAGWU
The Delta State Government has assured the Defence Headquarters Joint Monitoring team on the oil pipeline that it will collaborate with them to ensure that the issue of oil theft is reduced to the barest in the state.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Kingsley Emu made this known when he played host to the Joint Monitoring Team in Asaba.
The SSG said that for the monitoring team to succeed in their assignment, they must have the willpower to do the right thing to get to the root cause of the problem.
He equally noted that the vandalization of oil pipelines was affecting the economy as a lot of revenue that would have been coming to the country was lost to oil theft.
Dr Emu said the state had put in place formal and informal setups for monitoring the oil pipelines in collaboration with the relevant agencies and that though it came at a huge cost to the government it was worth it as it had helped greatly in monitoring the oil pipelines in the state.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Major-General Jamiu Jimoh said the joint monitoring team was in the state to monitor the activities of stakeholders in the oil and gas sector with a view to ensuring sustainable and increased oil production in the country.
He said the team was established on the directive of President Bola Tinubu under the supervision of the Chief of Defence Staff, which comprised relevant stakeholders within the security sector, government agencies, and the private sector
