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The Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has called on traaditional rulers to collaborate with the government to nip the incidents of oil theft in the bud to ensure stability and progress of the state and country at large.
He added that it was the duty of everyone to ensure security of state's resources.
He also advised traditional rulers to take charge of their domains and ensure ill-guided youths involved in acts of economic sabotage are ejected from the domains.
The governor gave the charge while declaring open the 117th/118th Combined Quarterly General Meeting of Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers at their Secretariat in Port Harcourt, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi.
Fubara said: “I want to see a different society. The Federal Government is doing everything to see that our crude oil production level increases. But every day, we are having issues of pipeline vandalism and all the associated problems.
“All these people carrying out these evil acts, they’re not coming from the moon, they live in our communities and we know them. I am charging this council to, as a first step, take charge of your communities.
“If there is any information that you need to share with us, kindly do. Overall, we need our country to progress. We need our country to be stable. We need our country to grow economically. It is through only one means: our oil production.”
He expressed delight and gratitude to God that the council remained in existence, despite the protracted political travail confronting the state and his administration.
