Tonye Cole, a co-founder and former group executive director of the Sahara Group, on Sunday, backed the allegations by Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, a former warlord, that a military cabal and prominent individuals are engaged in illicit oil bunkering in the Niger Delta.
Dokubo claimed in Abuja on Friday that the Nigerian military is responsible for 98% of the oil theft cases reported in the Niger Delta.
The famous Niger Delta militant leader made the accusation while speaking to State House correspondents after a private meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Dokubo was right, according to Cole, but the issue of oil theft is complex, he added.
Cole, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, said this when he appeared on Channels Television’s popular programming “Politics Today” on Sunday night.
He said: “It is multi-dimensional and multifaceted. Asari has spoken about one part of the problem. If you listen to him carefully, he said that you would find installations that are meant to guard the facilities. And right next to the facility, you see bunkering operations going on. That’s a fact. It’s something that we see and something that we know occurs. You will also see where they are building certain types of boats along the creeks. I am talking about huge wooden boats that can only carry stolen crude.
“We see them building it in the open. So we know where this is being done. One part of this problem, as I said, is that it’s open for everybody to see. The other part of it is: Can it be stopped? What Asari is talking about and what everybody should be addressing is the solutions to solving it because it’s a problem for Nigeria, the State, communities and the people. It’s a huge problem and it’s something that must be addressed.”
The politician went on to claim that stopping oil theft in the Niger Delta is not rocket science and expressed confidence in the ability of the current administration to stop the trend.
According to the APC candidate, it is practically difficult for large oil barges and ships with GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation to cruise into an area without a satellite noticing in a world where technology has made a great deal of things easier.
“The question at the end of the day is, why does it persist? This is what I will tell you. It also depends on who is the head of administration.
“Today we have a no-nonsense president in place. So Asari goes to him and asks him to address this issue. Number one is to address the money flow. This is a huge cash business. Follow the money. Once you are able to follow the money, you’ll be able to follow the source. There are different parts of this business. There are those who do the massive ones who export Nigerian crude. By the time you’re having an illegal vessel that is coming into Nigerian waters, a vessel is not something that is hidden. It can be seen.
“We have satellite technology today, which means that you can actually observe all of Nigeria’s territorial waters via a satellite. So if an illegal ship comes in, it’s clear. We have ships that have trackers and every ship is meant to put on their GPS tracker so that you know where they are globally. Now once a ship puts off its transponder, you know that it is off for illegal business and you should be able to see,” he said.