State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, Wednesday, lamented that Delta state was the worst hit by present activities of the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, and other militants. Okowa stated this when he played host to the Commander of Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Joseph Okojie, who led top officers of the multi-service task force to pay him a courtesy call in Asaba.
He prayed that pipeline bombings by militants should stop to enable the state “maintain its oil production without breaches as our revenue has dropped drastically.” The governor, who also acknowledged the adverse effect of the attacks on revenue accruing to the Federation Accounts, told the commander that the best way to tackle security issues in the Niger Delta was by sharing of intelligence and combination of personnel to achieve desired results.
Noting that sea piracy has reduced, he said the state still has some issues with kidnapping and advised the need for close collaboration among security agencies to nip it in the bud before it assumes another dimension. He asserted that unless government tackles security threats, including kidnapping, armed robbery and other vices, investors would be skeptical about doing business in the country. Governor Okowa, however, lauded the commander of the Operation Delta Safe for going beyond his areas of jurisdiction to collaborate with other security agencies to tackle security issues.
Rear Admiral Okojie had told the governor and top government functionaries who witnessed the event that they had the mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari to secure the waterways in the Niger Delta region, covering part of Ondo, Edo, and the entire Delta, Bayelsa; Rivers as well as part of Akwa Ibom states against security and economic threats. He assured that Operation Delta Safe was prepared to tackle any criminal action within the Nigerian maritime area and urged criminal elements within the region to have a rethink.
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