Reps call for end to burning of oil seized from illegal bunkering

The House of Representatives has moved to end the burning of seized bunkered petroleum resources due to its impact on the environment.

Following a motion moved by Francis Waive during plenary on Thursday, the house asked the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to immediately stop the method of disposal of seized crude Oil by the military.

It also urged the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, Chief of Naval, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete-Ibas and Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, to put an end to the current system.

Mr. Waive had in his motion conceded that the military have the power to seize illegal goods, he however, condemned the process of disposing the items.

“Under Nigerian laws, oil exploration and exploitation are the sole responsibility of the Federal Government and any extraction of oil without the consent of the Government is illegal

“Sizable quantity of the nation’s daily production of crude oil is being extracted and diverted illegally through acts of bunkering and vandalization of pipelines by hoodlums.”

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Waive noted that bunkering had a double effect of denying Nigerians the resources and also impacting on the environment.

Citing several examples of incidence of disposal and its unintended impacts on the people, he said: “There have been series of complaints from the Niger Delta region of illegal disposal of seized crude oil by military personnel into the river and burning of the bunkering materials, leading to explosion, air arid water pollution.

To end the trend, the lower chamber urged the National Environmental Standards and Regulatory Agency (NESREA) to cause a discontinuation of the current method that Military Personnel use in disposing of seized crude oil

To finally understand the process, the House mandated its Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness to investigate the matter and report back within six (6) weeks for further legislative action.

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