Buhari orders crackdown on oil thieves

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed security agencies to speedily bring to a halt, the activities of vandals in Niger Delta, restating that few criminals will not be allowed to have unfettered access to the country’s crude oil supply. The president announced the directive yesterday while receiving the Central Working Committee of the Association of Senior […]

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed security agencies to speedily bring to a halt, the activities of vandals in Niger Delta, restating that few criminals will not be allowed to have unfettered access to the country’s crude oil supply.

The president announced the directive yesterday while receiving the Central Working Committee of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) at the State House, Abuja.  

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He said criminal activities on Nigerian seas would be checked, stressing, “There should be no hiding place for such criminals. Our cooperation with neighbouring countries in halting these crimes is being strengthened and tightened.’’  

President Buhari said that investment in security assets had been at a huge cost after several decades of negligence.  

The president also assured that the Orosanye White Paper Report would be implemented after review to enable the government take the most appropriate decision on its general recommendations.  

“I am aware that the review is about to be completed,” he added in a statement issued by his spokesman, Femi Adesina.  

Buhari said that the outcome of the various review teams would lead to some fundamental changes in the structure of the civil service, and as such, it must be subjected to rigorous review and scrutiny before presentation and implementation.

On the harmonisation of salaries in the public service, the president stated that a committee was set up for that purpose under the minister of finance, which was still working. 

In his remarks, the president of the ASCSN, Dr Tommy Okon, called for an increase in salaries of civil servants following the increasing cost of living.