TheCable

Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser (NSA), says the country is now producing 1.8 million barrels of crude oil per day — up from about 900,000 barrels.

Ribadu said this on Tuesday when he appeared before the senate, alongside the service chiefs and other security heads to discuss the country’s security challenges, a source said.

In December, Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources, said the country was producing about 1 million barrels of crude oil per day which had steadily risen to 1.4 million.

1.7 million bpd was set as the benchmark for the country to materialise its 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion.

The NSA said the increase in the production of crude oil was as a result of “kinetic and non-kinetic operations”.

“This nearly doubling of production results from stringent measures against oil theft and criminality, combining non-military intervention and active kinetic measures,” Ribadu was quoted to have said.

The NSA 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 said the activities of members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have been reduced to a minimum.

On his part, Christopher Musa, chief of defence staff, said the synergy between the security agencies has yielded “great” results across the country.