President Muhammadu Buhari Friday in Abuja assured oil companies operating
\nin the Niger Delta that the Federal Government is taking all necessary
\nactions to protect strategic assets in the region from vandals and
\ncriminals.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a meeting with the Global Director (Upstream) of the Royal
\nDutch Shell Group, Mr. Andrew Brown, President Buhari said that he has
\ndirected the Chief of Naval Staff to reorganise and strengthen the
\nmilitary Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta to deal effectively
\nwith the resurgence of militancy and the sabotage of oil installations.<\/p>\n
The President told Mr. Brown that the operations of the JTF were also
\nbeing enhanced with increased support and cooperation from the United
\nStates and Europe in the areas of training, intelligence, equipment and
\nlogistics.<\/p>\n
“We have to be very serious with the situation in the Niger Delta because
\nit threatens the national economy. I assure you that everything possible
\nwill be done to protect personnel and oil assets in the region,” President
\nBuhari said.<\/p>\n
The President urged aggrieved persons, militants and communities in the
\nNiger Delta to drop their confrontational stance and work with those who
\nhave been charged by the Federal Government to review the Amnesty
\nProgramme initiated by the Yar’Adua Administration for the benefit of all
\nparties.<\/p>\n
President Buhari praised the resilience and staying power of Shell in
\nNigeria despite the operational challenges of the environment .<\/p>\n
He urged the company to do its best to end gas-flaring in the Niger Delta
\nquickly and produce more gas for electricity generation to support
\nmanufacturing and job creation in the country.<\/p>\n
Mr. Brown had appealed for an urgent solution to rising crime and
\nmilitancy in the Niger Delta.<\/p>\n
The Shell Executive also dispelled speculations that the company was
\npulling out of Nigeria.<\/p>\n
He said that contrary to such speculations, Shell was currently in
\ndiscussions with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on
\nnew joint oil and gas projects.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Muhammadu Buhari Friday in Abuja assured oil companies operating in the Niger Delta that the Federal Government is taking all necessary actions to protect strategic assets in the region…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n