The Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar has commended the operations of the Headquarters 6 Division/Land Component Joint Task task Force, South South Operation Delta Safe for their continued fight against oil theft and other forms of criminalities in the region saying the increase in oil production is a testament to the sustained fight by the special task force.
The Minister gave the commendation during his maiden visit to the Headquarters of Nigerian Army 6 Division in Port Harcourt.
Badaru highlighted the efforts of the Operation Delta Safe, the Chief of Defence Staff and more importantly the unwavering support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the fight against oil theft that has been ravaging the nation.
He re-emphasized the need for joint efforts in fighting this menace saying that the hope of Nigerians is for the oil to drive the nation to prosperity .
“What we are doing today is to commend the troops and encourage them to do more and put an end to oil theft in the region”, he said.
The Minister reaffirmed his confidence that with the detailed plan agreed by the Chief of Defence Staff, there is hope of defeating the crime of oil theft in the region.
“Certainly, we are seeing progress. Oil production has increased and it will continue to increase and I assure you that before the end of this year you will see tremendous increase in oil production,” he said.
Consequently, the Minister urged the Operation Delta Safe to intensify and enhance extant measures in the Niger Delta region to ensure increased oil production .
Earlier, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Major-General JH Abdussalam while briefing the Minister on the activities of the 6 Division/Land Component Joint Task Force South South Operation Delta Safe said that they have strengthened the fighting capability of the troops and have put up robust joint measures to thwart the activities of oil thieves as well as denying freedom of action of some criminal groups like IPOB/ESN.
He restated the Task Force’s commitment to sustain the anti-oil theft operations until the Federal Government target of 2 million barrels per day is achieved by December 2024.
