Abia Sets Up 27-member Task Force to Fight Oil Theft 

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has drawn the state into the battle against oil thieves following his inauguration of a 27-member Petroleum Team specially constituted to deal with the problem of oil theft.

The Petroleum Team, which includes 12 military personnel, was carved from the Abia State Harmonised Taskforce (ASHTF), as a branch charged with curbing the incidents of oil theft in the state.

Abia is among the oil producing states of Nigeria with oil coming from Ukwa West Local Government Area of the state.

The team, which has a journalist, Mr. Sam Oditah of the News of Nigeria (NAN) as member, was inaugurated in Umuahia at the weekend by the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs,  Mr. Uzor Nwachukwu.

The commissioner, who represented Governor Otti, charged the PT members to be tough on pipeline vandals as well as petroleum marketers engaging in sharp practices and economic sabotage.

Uzor, who is also the chairman of ASHTF, lamented the incidents of oil bunkering in Abia State, saying that it was high time the economic crime was stamped out.

“Your work is a lot more technical in nature and we believe that you have a complex work to do in the state,” he told the team members.

However, he said that they should find comfort in the fact that “the work you are about to embark on is for you to continue to contribute your quota for the advancement of our state.”

The commissioner urged the members of the team to discharge their duties without fear or favour, and ensure that Abia State is not conducive for  those involved in fraudulent dispensing of petroleum products.

While congratulating the team on behalf of the governor, he categorically stated that the government expected that a lot of revenues would accrue to the state through their efforts.

The Team Leader, Air Commodore Sunday Azubuike (rtd), thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve the state through the Petroleum Team.

He pledged that he and the team members would discharge their duties efficiently for the good of Abia State and Nigeria in general.