File picture of militants (photo: Reuters)
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu has said Niger Delta militants nearly crippled the country if not for the Federal Government’s intervention in 2015.
Kachikwu noted this in a podcast on Wednesday where he said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration had series of consultations with the militants who were ready to shut-down the country.
As stated by him, “The president was kind enough to appoint me to hold the twin positions of both the GMD of NNPC and the Minister of State for Petroleum. Niger Delta was a burning issue at the time, there was key unrest in the Niger Delta.
“A huge amount of militancy activities going on, there were reductions in production volumes, a consistent loss that led to almost crippling of the oil industry.
“At the lowest point, we were down to 800,000 barrels. All the infrastructure that we had were compromised. The integrity of the infrastructure, vandalism and militancy compelled the integrity of the infrastructure to disappear.”
The minister added that, “This sustained attack continued for over a 10-month period. Forcados was breached in February 2016. In May 2016, the Nembe Creek Trunkline was attacked. In November 2016, series and series of attacks.
“The amount of problems we inherited in the Niger Delta meant that literarily if nothing was done, the country was getting crippled. No money for investments, no money for infrastructures or to run the budget.”
Furthermore, he noted that there were no investments in the region until he came into office in 2015 as investors shied away from doing business in the region.