The Government of the day has said that the menace of oil theft in
the country is undermining efforts at delivering on its transformation programmes
and thus, The Vice President, Namadi Sambo, stated this on Wednesday, when he
received in audience a top level delegation from the United States
Government, led by the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Sharon Burke.
The Vice President, however, expressed optimism that with
the support and partnership of the United States and other members of the
international community, the menace would soon be brought to an end.
He further stated that government was not taking oil
theft lightly as it had put in place stringent measures to bring the menace to
an end, saying that the Federal Executive Council had on Wednesday approved the
development of a special laboratory for forensic on oil products in Nigeria,
which will assist in tackling the problem squarely. He stated that Nigeria was
a strong believer in democracy which the U.S. stood for, adding that Nigeria
was committed to the entrenchment of democracy in not only the West African
sub-region, but Africa as a whole.
The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle,
said the delegation came to the country in response to a request made by
President Goodluck Jonathan to President Barack Obama for assistance to tackle
crude oil theft.
“Based on that request, President Obama put together this
delegation and instructed it to come here and see if we can help,” Mr.
Entwistle said
Mr. Entwistle stated that the delegation has been in
Delta State and Abuja and also met with top government officials and some oil
companies.
He further said, they didn’t come here to just solve the problem
on behalf of the country but rather, to listen and learn so they can understand
Nigeria (and) this oil theft problem.
Will Nigeria also need the U.S to tackle boko haram?
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