The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has called on western allies to designate the Indigenous People of Biafra as a terrorist group for “involvement” in vandalism of pipelines and other infrastructures.
Buhari, in an interview Bloomberg, a United States-based publication, said the vandalism and oil theft allegedly carried out by IPOB were responsible for the shortfall of the daily oil production quota in Nigeria.
While noting that the country had stepped up its efforts in combating oil theft and vandalism among others, he said, “Criminality and terrorism in oil-producing regions hamper production, and it would help if our western allies designated IPOB as a terrorist group, given their complicity in damage to pipelines and infrastructure.
“We urge those same international partners to take additional steps costing them nothing, by proscribing IPOB as a terrorist organisation.”
“Their leadership enjoys a haven in the West, broadcasting hate speech into Nigeria from London, spending millions lobbying members of the US Congress, and freely using international financial networks to arm agitators on the ground. This must stop,” he said.
Speaking on the efforts of the country on security, Buhari said, “We have invested in our security forces, including the $1 billion military deal with the US for the acquisition of A-29 Super Tucano aircraft.
“These efforts are making an impact, wells that had to be closed due to criminality, have now re-opened. With these efforts, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Country has raised our quota for next month.”
Speaking on Nigeria’s electricity supply issues, he hinted on grid modernisation, saying there were hundreds of ongoing projects and initiatives attracting funding from investors.
