By PHILIP NWOSU
The Nigerian Navy said it has shut most of the illegal refineries being operated by persons stealing Nigeria’s crude oil from the Niger Delta.
The Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas who made the revelation said the Navy has considerably reduced the incidences of piracy and crude oil theft and kept the waterways safe, explaining that the mandate of the force is the keep the waterways safe and prevent the stealing of Nigeria’s wealth offshore.
He said that the activities of the navy could not be physically seen, by the ordinary man but it has deeply affected the country economy positively with the increase in the volume of trade between Nigeria and other countries.
Admiral Ibas spoke in Lagos after the completion of the Chief of Naval Staff’s annual inspection of unit said the navy has been able to create more enabling environment for fishing company to thrive.
The naval chief who also addressed officers and men of the force in Lagos warned them against hate speech and the need to support the programmes and policies of the present government.
While assuring them that their welfare needs would be taken care of, Admiral Ibas said the mandate of the navy is to ensure that they provide the enabling environment for sea farers.
While speaking on the need for navy to provide a safe corridor for shipping organization to move goods and operate within a safe maritime space, the Naval Chief said the capacity the force has acquired in terms its maritime domain awareness infrastructure such as the Falcon Eye intelligence infrastructure, has given it the latitude to protect vessels at sea.
The head of the Nigerian Navy had earlier visited projects in Navy Town, Naval Dockyard, Western Naval Command and Naval Training Command to assess the level of implementation and to ensure that the force’s personnel are operating within his vision of developing a credible naval power in fulfillment of the Nigerian Navy’s constitutional roles towards enhancing national prosperity and security.