Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has advocated a review of surveillance contracts on oil facilities to involve host communities in order to check the high rate of oil theft in the country.

Okowa made the call when he received a Federal Government delegation on anti-il theft led by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, on Monday in Asaba.

He said that reviewing oil surveillance contracts based on the performance of the contractors and engagement of host communities would ensure effectiveness in securing the nation’s oil and gas assets.

Okowa said that the challenge of oil theft was huge, given the level it had assumed, but expressed happiness with steps taken by the authorities to curb the menace.

“I am glad that we are discussing this hydra-headed issue which impacts directly on our economy and the environment.

“It impacts on the health of the people and sustainability of the environment, and I am glad that we are taking some steps because there are so many issues that led us to this.

“We went through situations where gaps were created between host communities and oil companies, and unfortunately, criminality set in.

“It has gone so bad, but we are doing our best as a state. I am also glad about this collaboration,’’ he said.

The governor said it was pertinence of a review surveillance contracts of the oil facilities to ensure community involvement.

Okowa said that it was often difficult to secure the facilities, especially when the persons given the contracts did not have adequate information on the environment or did not have the buy-in of host communities.

“We know that the impact of the nefarious activities on the health of the people cannot be immediately ascertained, and this collaboration is, therefore, very imperative.

“Any measure that will deliberately reduce the level of oil thefts is definitely worth supporting, and as a state government, we pledge our continued support.

“Why investment of the communities is needed is because there are some parts of the creeks that cannot be accessed by the surveillance contractor.

“The surveillance contracts should be tied to performance such that when there are oil thefts, you terminate the contract, and it is always good that communities are involved because they know the environment better,” he said.

He, however, flayed the oil companies for not keeping faith with their Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs), thereby making the stakeholders lose confidence in the system.

Okowa said that when oil companies fail to sign or implement MOUs, “it becomes very difficult for the state government to mediate when there are issues.

“The security agencies must heighten their operations, and they need to be resourced to enable them to also increase their level of surveillance, and for this to succeed, there must be sincerity on the part of all stakeholders.”

Earlier, Sylva said that the team was in Asaba to seek the support and buy-in of the state government on measures to be adopted to check oil theft.

He said that oil theft had become a national emergency, especially as the nation had not been able to meet its OPEC production quota.

“As a country, we cannot sustain this kind of theft perpetually.

“Our production has dropped drastically to very unsustainable levels; so, we have decided to take the bull by the horn by putting some structures in place.

”Those structures cannot function effectively without the collaboration of the state government,” he said.

Also, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, who is coordinating the security intervention against oil theft, disclosed that in the last five months, security agencies had been dealing with issues of illegal refineries and oil bunkering across the Niger Delta.

He also advocated for the engagement of indigenes and host communities in the fight against criminal activity.

On his part, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Malam Mele Kyari, said that Nigeria was currently losing about two billion dollars monthly to the activities of oil vandals, with its attendant effect on environmental degradation.

“As a country, we hardly meet our OPEC production quantum of 1.99 million barrels per day with our current production level of 1.4 million barrels per day which is currently being threatened by the activities of these economic saboteurs.

“This has done extensive damage to the environment, and losing 1.9 billion dollars every month is colossal, considering the nature of the global economy at the moment,’’ he said.

Kyari reinstated that the team needed the support and buy-in of the Delta Government “because stopping this oil theft requires the concerted efforts of the Federal, State Governments, oil companies and security agencies”.