Tonye Cole, an All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for governor of Rivers State in 2023, asserts that those responsible for oil theft in the Niger Delta are not hidden.
Cole, a former Executive Director of Sahara Energy, spoke on Sunday Politics on Channels Television. He believes that oil thieves must be included in the discussion about stopping oil bunkering.
“You have to bring them in. They must be part of the discussion. They are not hidden. Some of them may have grown through the creeks, some of them you see their lifestyles change,” he said.
“You see someone whose lifestyle has changed, you see the houses have changed, you see the cars have changed, you see the money that is spent, so you know. This is a society where when we were growing up if you start showing money and no one knows where it’s coming from, everyone will ostracise you from the society.
“Today it has changed; nobody cares where your money is coming from again. So it is not hidden, people know almost immediately within the community that this is what is going on,” Cole said.
His assertion is coming amid allegation by a former Niger Delta agitator, Asari Dokubo that the military is responsible for most oil theft in the country.
He said that Dokubo’s allegation of oil theft against the military is a big issue that must be addressed.
Cole noted that the military might have been angered by Dokubo’s claim but said the military would not deny that there are some bad eggs that aid and abet illegal bunkering.
According to the APC chieftain, if the country does not address the issue of illegal bunkering, a state of emergency in the oil and gas sector might be the only solution.