Southsouth Secretary of the Waterways Transport Association of Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria (WTAPMAN), Mr. Fidelis Ekanem, has said Akwa Ibom State consumes 80 per cent of adulterated petroleum products.
Speaking with reporters in Uyo yesterday, he said a survey by experts and stakeholders indicated that there were widespread activities of illegal bunkerers operating in the downstream sector of the oil industry.
Leading hundreds of his members on sensitisation tour along the streets of Uyo, the WTAPMAN secretary said the group had secured the mandate of the state government to collaborate with the Ministry of Internal Security and Waterways, and other security agencies to rid the state of oil sector criminals.
He noted: “Akwa Ibom State has no refinery, no tank farms, oil depots and other large petroleum product reservoirs to store products that can be sufficient for the entire population given the fact that most products come from neighbouring Calabar, Cross River State and Port Harcourt in Rivers State.
“Illegal sources account for most of the products consumed in the state. Akwa Ibom is not like Rivers, Delta and other states where you have all these facilities to store fuel and other petroleum products.
“This means only about 20 per cent of the products come in through legal process, while about 80 per cent find their way into the state through illegal processes of bunkering, pipeline vandals and oil thieves.”
Ekanem warned oil sector thieves to vacate the state or be ready to face the firepower of the Joint Task Force (JTF) comprising operatives of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the regular Police and other security agencies detailed to work with WTAPMAN, in the ongoing reforms in the sector.
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