FG addressing the menace of bunkering and illegal refineries_ Sen. Enang
The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhamadu Buhari on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Ita Enang has said that the federal government is not slacking in addressing air and environmental pollution caused partly by the activities of illegal refiners.
He made this disclosure while appearing virtually from Abuja as a guest on a private national television programme on Tuesday.
Enang whose appearance was not unconnected to the petroleum industry stakeholders call on the government to implement the recommendations in the report of the National Summit on Integration of Artisanal/Modular Refinery Operations into the in-country oil refining programme of the oil and gas sector said the recent meeting was called to assess and review the situation since after the three-day conference in Abuja in March 2021.
At an emergency meeting convened recently by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Ita Enang, participants advocated for a review of the Petroleum Refining Regulations of 1974, including other relevant laws that will regulate the establishment of artisanal refineries.
The meeting according to him was called to address the issues of air pollution and ongoing ecocide in Rivers State and other Niger Delta states as a result of oil theft and illicit artisanal refining in the region.
And whi[e acknowledging the effort of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike in his war against artisanal refiners, he said the action has only addressed the problem minimally because the operators have merely relocated to other locations in the region. In his word, “It has only addressed the problem in Rivers, not Delta, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Abia and other areas where this illegal activity is still going on”
The way out of this quagmire Enang said referring to the recommendations of the conference which he said representatives from the governments of the respective States in the region were part of, was providing an alternative source of livelihood for the people of Ogoni and each State in the region creating a refinery pack to ensure that crude oil is allocated to the local operators for refining.
He advocated for a controlled evacuation of residue which emanates in the course of refining crude oil so that the environment is saved from pollution.
Meanwhile, the war of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike on illegal refining is said to be yielding positive results according to testimonies from some residents and Chairmen of local council areas in the State.
The 23 council chairmen in the State are the footsoldiers, sustaining the raid on artisanal refineries in their domain. Mr. Chidi Lloyd, Chairman of Emuoha LGA said all legal means would be deployed to fight the war in order to improve air quality in Rivers State.
