President Yar’Adua urges global clampdown on trade in stolen crude oil
By
Jul 7, 2008, 19:40

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has disclosed that the Federal Government will soon present a proposal to the United Nations for urgent action to be taken by the international community to clampdown on the illicit trade in stolen crude oil.

The President who stated this on July 7 in Hokkaido, Japan while speaking at separate talks with the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Yasuo Fukuda and the President of the World Bank, Mr. Robert B. Zoellick on the margins of the Summit of the Group of Eight Industrialized Nations (G-8), said that stolen crude oil ought to be treated globally in the same manner as stolen diamonds.

“I appeal to you and through you to all other G8 leaders to support my new proposal which I will also discuss with UN Secretary General at my meeting with him, that stolen crude should be treated like stolen diamonds because they both generate blood money. Like what is now known as “blood diamond”, stolen crude also aids corruption and violence and can provoke war,” the President said.

President Yar’Adua said that in concert with ongoing efforts to holistically address the developmental challenges of the Niger Delta, his Administration was taking steps to “dismantle the criminal dimension” of the problem in the region, which, he said, was now being aggravated by some international cartels.

He noted that other aspect of the Niger Delta challenge is the criminal aspect, specifically those who use the cover of militancy to steal the nation’s crude oil and engage in all forms of violence, adding that the government know how arms are brought in to support this criminality but will rather tackle the menace together with the challenge of development.

Reiterating that his Administration attaches the highest priority to peace and security as a precondition for development, the President said that the planned Summit of Niger Delta Stakeholders will provide “a platform where we will all agree on a programme of action” to redress the underdevelopment of the region.

He expressed optimism that the nation is at the verge of finding a permanent solution to the problem that has festered for decades adding that the Summit of Stakeholders will form the bedrock of a permanent solution to the problem of political agitation.

President Yar’Adua stated that in the last one year, his administration has been having series of discussions with the stakeholders so that the summit will provide the platform where all would agree on a programme of action for development that would be binding on all the actors.

He said that his Administration would soon announce the establishment of an Infrastructure Concessioning Commission to encourage private investment in the development of roads, railways, power plants and other critical infrastructure in all parts of Nigeria.

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