By Emeka Nze,
A delegate at the National Conference, Senator Aniete Okon has condemned the statement credited to another South-South delegate at the conference, Senator Nimi Amange, claimed in his contribution to the plenary on Tuesday that the Niger Delta boys were already refining fuel in the creeks and the country has no business importing refined fuel from abroad.
Senator Okon who in an interview with newsmen described the statement as “irresponsible” stated that “it was a stamp of approval for lawlessness” while condemning the patronising language, “the boys” as tacit approval of illegality.
He said each of the refineries had a cleansing process installed within it to prevent toxic elements that come from crude oil noting that wherever oil is being refined there were usually health provisions made to prevent kidney and lung diseases.
The delegate noted that without such provisions, such places were prone to such organ diseases arising from the chemical environment because of the location of such refineries in those areas pointing out that the technology for refining fuel in the creek is nonexistent as they merely adopt simple distillation in the manner they distil illicit gin in the area.
In his anger, Okon said, “We cannot sit here and make fools of ourselves by talking of a technological capacity of the so called boys in the Creeks.