The new Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Obi Charles Medani, has said that organised syndicates were those stealing Nigerian crude oil, but that the Navy was poised to fighting them to a standstill.
Medani, who made the remarks during his first bi-annual inspection tour of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Victory command, Calabar on Tuesday said time was up for the syndicate because of robust operational mechanism put in place by the Navy.
He said: “The Chief of Naval Staff has made it clear that the Nigerian Navy will fight maritime crime to a standstill, especially the shameful practice of widespread stealing of the country’s crude oil by organised syndicates.”
The FOC explained that in order to arrest the situation, the Navy was embarking on “qualitative training, timely maintenance and increased availability of platforms and strict adherence to the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service”, which, he said, would lead to “improved operational efficiency of the Navy.”
He said his main target as the Flag Officer Commanding the Eastern Naval Command would be “to step up the fight against crude oil theft through vigorous patrol of the seas where this crime is known to take place; stopping unauthorised tankers from entering our waters, and curbing acts of piracy and sea robbery.”
Medani emphasised that his command would also strengthen joint operations and co-operations with other sister service units in the military and para-military agencies in the area of operational responsibilities.
He added that programmes which would enhance the fighting spirit and efficiency of the Navy, “such as continuous practical training, sound professional practices, physical fitness, regimentation,” would be improved to achieve their goal.
The FOC, however, identified inadequate platform, high cost of sustaining maintenance, occasional hiccups in operational logistics, shortage of accommodation, ecological problems, shortage of operational vehicles and manpower as some of the challenges the command was facing but promised that such challenges would be addressed within available resources in the shortest possible time.
