Navy Should Protect Our Oil Pipelines, Not Private Firms – Governor Douye Diri

The Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri has come out to criticize the Federal Government’s maritime protection policy of engaging non-state actors to secure the maritime environment.

He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and Nigerians have been reacting.

According to him, he can only call on the Federal Government to review the security strategy, because it is the Navy, not private firms, who should be protecting our oil pipelines.

He added that the cry of the Bayelsa State Government is that non-state actors are not best suited to protect our oil assets.

His words, “The cry of the Bayelsa State Government is that non-state actors are not the best to protect our oil assets. In the name of oil pipeline protection contracts, most of them violate the rights of our people in our localities.

Let us not do things that we will regret as a country tomorrow. What the Federal Government is doing right now is like cutting the nose to spice the face.

You don’t need to cut off your head because you have rotten teeth. You simply look for a toothbrush. You will be surprised that we will get to a point where some of these non-state actors will start to challenge us.

I will suggest that the Nigerian Navy should be allowed to play that role to protect our critical oil assets. The Federal Government should therefore rejig or reinvent its security strategy to securing these assets.”