By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

THE Federal Government Task Force in collaboration with the Eastern Naval Command have intensified efforts to rid the eastern waterways of criminal activities including oil bunkering within the maritime environment.

The Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Olufemi Ogunjimi who disclosed this in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, weekend at the  end of a six kilometre route match by the Navy said that the command was doing everything possible to face out oil bunkering along the coastal waterway.

Admiral Ogunjimi said that the menace of oil bunkering in the country especially within the eastern waterways was a war all stakeholders must fight to win.

“The various states government within the command are also doing their very best to fight illegal oil bunkering while the National Assembly is currently reviewing the Laws in regards to the punishment of offenders,” he added.

He tasked officers and men of the force to always keep themselves physically fit in order to face the challenges modern warfare, saying that military assignment was always a difficult task hence the need to be fit and combat ready.

“Physical fitness is not negotiable in the Navy. We must be fit so that anywhere we are assigned any task, no matter how difficult and strenuous, we should be able to carry out such task.

“Military assignment can sometimes be very difficult, we should be able to move to anywhere at any given time,” he stated, adding that going by the success of the exercise, he was optimistic that the troops were combat ready.