The Federal Government has warned that it will deal ruthlessly with those engaged in pipeline vandalism and the sabotage of power infrastructure that have combined to drastically reduce power generation/transmission as well as fuel supplies in recent times, thus inflicting untold hardship on Nigerians.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the repeated attacks on oil and gas pipelines and the willful shutdown of power facilities by protesters amount to economic sabotage which no government will tolerate.
“Vandals, whatever their motives are, cannot and will not be treated with kid gloves because their actions constitute a clear and present danger to the nation’s economic, social and political well being. The attack on the Forcados Export Terminal that has affected gas production by oil firms and reduced gas supply to power generating plants and the shutdown of the Utorogu gas plant are totally condemnable and cannot be allowed to continue.
“Also, while this Administration will not do anything to abridge the constitutional rights of any individual or group to carry out protests, it will also not tolerate a situation in which anyone will hide under the guise óf legitimate protests to sabotage power infrastructure. The shutdown of the national transmission facility in Osogbo and the Ikeja Disco by some unionists amount to economic sabotage,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed said the government is not unaware that as it steps up the fight against corruption, corruption will vigorously fight back in many forms, including the destruction/sabotage of key national infrastructure to make the government look bad.
“However, nothing will make this government to slow down in its anti-corruption fight and no one who is corrupt will be spared,” he assured.
The minister appealed to Nigerians to join hands with the government to check the activities of the unscrupulous and unpatriotic elements who have taken it upon themselves to continuously work against the interest of the people.
“When oil and gas facilities are vandalised, the impact is felt directly by Nigerians. When power infrastructure is sabotaged for whatever reasons, Nigerians bear the brunt. While those actions may be aimed at discrediting the government, those who pay the price are the vast majority of innocent, law-abiding and well-meaning Nigerians, not just the vandals or the saboteurs. This is why Nigerians must not allow the few recreants behind these attacks to hold sway,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed said the power situation is gradually improving as generation has now increased to around 4,000MW while the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, has assured that the prevailing fuel queues will gradually ease in the next few days. (News Express)
Alhaji Lai, listen carefully, do you even think you actually know these evil doers? You may know just about a hundred of them but the vast majority of them can never be tagged yet they are a virus that must be fought to a standstill.
Alhaji, do you remember when Lenin was asked why he was doing away with those he took power from? Lenin said he took power from them because their system ran counter to the aspiration of the vast majority and could not let them wander free.If he was to succeed, the “old Brigade” just have to go!
You are taking money from them and letting them sleep in their lush palatios, giving them time to regroup and hatch more devastating plans? Come on, get real.You can never stop corruption this way.You don’t want to be tagged dictatorial, they already tagged you!
Alhaji, are you listening, go after these evil doers, long as you gat enough load to dock them, do not hesitate to clamp them into the gulag until they are ready.Go after the dirty JUDGES first, those friends of WIKE. Arrest them on Thursday afternoons send them straight to Kuje by the time their evil attorneys show up it will be Friday evening, too late to perfect bails.Make sure you already got their jail uniforms ready for them upon entry and flash their pictures to show they are just fine.Untill you show them you can bark and bite, these “mfs” will only be laughing at your government.