President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said Sunday at The Hague that the
\nFederal Government has earmarked one billion U.S Dollars for the
\nimplementation of a comprehensive programme to check crude oil theft, the
\nvandalism of oil and gas infrastructure, and the apprehension and
\nprosecution of crude oil thieves.<\/p>\n
Speaking at separate meetings with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands,
\nMr. Mark Rutte and the Chief Executive Officer of Shell International,
\nMr. Ben van Beurden, President Jonathan said that a technical committee
\nhas already been set up to look into all aspects of the implementation of
\nthe programme.<\/p>\n
This, the President said, will include further action to enhance the
\nsecurity of pipelines and other oil industry infrastructure, resolve
\ncommunity-related issues, boost youth empowerment in oil-producing areas
\nand enhance the commitment of oil companies to the discharge of their
\ncorporate social responsibilities.<\/p>\n
President Jonathan said that the fresh onslaught against oil theft
\nplanned by his administration will require the maximum co-operation of
\nthe international community, especially countries like the Netherlands
\nwhich are major stakeholders in the global oil industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cOil theft is an aspect of global terrorism, which has become a big
\nindustry on its own. It has become a major threat to the Nigerian economy
\nand we need to work with all stakeholders to curb it. The thieves must be
\ntraced, apprehended and prosecuted\u201d, the President who is in the
\nNetherlands for the 2014 global Nuclear Security Summit said.<\/p>\n
The Dutch Prime Minister assured the President of the commitment of the
\nNetherlands to concerted action against crude oil theft and global
\nterrorism.<\/p>\n
Mr. Rutte who remarked that President Jonathan\u2019s visit affirmed the
\nstrong ties between Nigeria and the Netherlands, also assured the
\nPresident of the willingness of The Netherlands to collaborate more with
\nNigeria on environmental and security issues, particularly in the Niger
\nDelta.<\/p>\n
He praised Nigeria\u2019s leadership role in promoting regional security in
\nWest Africa, and welcomed the signing of an agreement on immigration
\nbetween both countries as well as the strong trade relations between
\nNigeria and The Netherlands.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President’s visit is an open testimony of the strong ties between
\nNigeria and Netherlands. Nigeria is Netherlands\u2019 main trading partner in
\nAfrica and the Netherlands is the second biggest European investor in
\nNigeria,\u201d the Dutch Prime Minister said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said Sunday at The Hague that the Federal Government has earmarked one billion U.S Dollars for the implementation of a comprehensive programme to check crude oil…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n