Nuhu Ribadu
Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser (NSA), has revealed that the country now produces 1.8 million barrels of crude oil per day.
Ribadu made this known on Tuesday when he appeared before the Senate, alongside the Service Chiefs and other Security Heads.
The NSA said the increase in the production of crude oil was a result of the fight against oil theft and criminality in the Niger Delta.
According to the cable, Ribadu stated that the near doubling of production results from the “kinetic and non-kinetic operations of the military.
“This nearly doubling of production results from stringent measures against oil theft and criminality, combining non-military intervention and active kinetic measures,” Ribadu said.
Recall that in December, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, had said the country was producing about 1 million barrels of crude oil per day, steadily rising to 1.4 million.
However, 1.7 million bpd was set as the benchmark for the country to materialise its 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion.
Ribadu was said to have briefed the upper legislative chamber about the various security operations across the country.
He said due to successful operations carried out by the various security agencies, farmers in communities in Zamfara, Kaduna, and Niger states have been able to return to farmlands.
Ribadu also stated that the activities of members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have been reduced to a minimum.