NUJ accuses military, politicians of stealing crude oil in Nigeria

Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Bayelsa State Council, Mr. Tarinyo Akono, has accused the military and politicians of masterminding the stealing of crude oil in the Niger Delta.
The NUJ boss alleged that the military and their accomplices in the political class, employed the locals to execute the illicit trade.
Akono stated this in Yenagoa on Wednesday during a workshop on ‘Reporting the Oil Industry’, organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.
The workshop is geared towards updating the knowledge of practising journalists in the Niger Delta region on the oil and gas industry and also improve on their reportorial skills.
The NUJ boss lamented the sad experiences of oil-bearing communities since the advent of crude oil, particularly with the military’s involvement in the protection of oil facilities.
He insisted that the oil and gas industries had brought to the region  mixed feelings of pains, sorrow and intimidation
Akono stated,  ”The  oil and gas industry has brought us mixed feelings, pain and sorrow in the past. It is sad that the military, with all their huge budgets have not been able to stop it. This means they are involved in the business as well.
“Governor Seriake Dickson, a few days ago lamented the high rise of crude oil thieves, pipeline vandalism in the creeks of Bayelsa State and declared that his administration would set up a special task force to  handle the menace.
“It is not the first time that the military have been fingered in the ongoing theft of crude oil in the region as the Civil Liberties Organization had earlier accused them of involvement in the economic crime.”
The Vice president Zone F of NUJ, Seiyefa Uzaka, backed Akono’s position on the issue of crude oil theft and the involvement of the military, describing it as “unwholesome.”