By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The Nigerian Navy has announced the acquisition of three ships and two helicopters, aiming to reinforce the fight against oil theft particularly in the Niger-Delta region of the West African nation.
They will be inaugurated into Naval inventory on May 30, 2024, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, stated on Sunday in Abuja at an inter-denominational service as part of events to mark the 68th anniversary of the Nigerian Navy.
Additional five operational vessels from China and Turkey are also expected by the third quarter of the year, the Naval chief added.
Heritage Times HT reports that oil theft in the region has affected the country’s production output, affecting its ability to meet the OPEC quota.
Nigeria’s current oil output is below the nation’s 2024 budget target of 1.78mbpd.
Nigeria’s 2024 budget depends heavily on proceeds from crude sales. The country’s crude oil production rose to 1.418mbpd in December 2023, from 1.319mbpd in November, a report by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said but yet to hit the national benchmark.
The first patrol vessel was launched in October 2023 before the wife of the President, Oluremi Tinubu, launched the second 76-meter High Endurance Offshore Patrol Vessel built by DEARSAN Shipyard in Turkey on April 21.
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“We want to also use this opportunity to commend our efforts, particularly in the area of fleet renewal. On May 30 this year, we are commissioning three more ships and two more helicopters.
“This is in addition to several other OPVs that are coming from different parts of the world. We have two OPVs that are coming from Turkey, which are billed to come in the third quarter of this year; we have three that are coming from China,” the Naval chief said on Sunday.
Speaking on steps being taken by the military to build ships locally, Ogalla explained that efforts were on to build and repair ships in the country, adding that this was crucial to the growth of the service and the nation’s blue economy.
He said, “Our local ship-building effort has become a cardinal point of my vision in the Nigerian Navy. This is because we realize that the only way we can grow as a navy is to make sure that we have local content in all our key areas of development.
“Of course, which, you know, shipbuilding is part of it. And also we recognize that shipbuilding and ship repairs will contribute effectively to the overall blue economy, which is one of the agenda of the president’s administration.”
The top military brass, however, urged the personnel in the maritime force to redouble their efforts to achieve more feats in the coming years.
“To this end, I urge every one of us to work hard to redouble our efforts to ensure that we achieve even more in the years ahead. Let us make sure that we have a navy that we will be proud of,” Ogalla added.
