President Bola Tinubu has been told to protect the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla from oil thieves who are sponsoring petitions and other shenanigans against him for blocking their nefarious activities in the sector.

A former House of Representatives aspirant and political leader in Enugu State, Chief Emeka Aba, made the call and urged the President, through the appropriate agencies, to stem the tide of frivolous petitions against, Ogalla whom he described as a genuine and honest public servant.

Aba also urged the President to protect Admiral Ogalla from the alleged “destruction” lined up against him by oil thieves and their representatives who have found the Naval Chief uncompromising and inflexible to their demand for “business as usual illegal bunkering deals.”

Chief Aba, who alleged that some top Nigerians who are involved in illegal oil bunkering have been busy writing spates of petitions aimed at painting the Chief of Naval Staff in bad light, said that the Federal Government should do everything within its means to ensure that genuine servants of the nation are not distracted or have their names dented.

The former House of Representatives aspirant said that available records show that since the coming of the current leadership of the Navy backed by the political will from President Tinubu, the fight against oil thieves have intensified, which has resulted in more arrests and seizures.

He alleged that “from all indications, the petitioners are doing the bidding of some frustrated oil thieves who want a return to the status quo so that their business can continue.

“I want to urge the Presidency to put its searchlight on individuals in government and their friends outside government who from all indications are finding the new wave of anti-oil theft very uncomfortable.

“Discerning minds find the process of one of the petitions against Vice Admiral Ogalla curious in that it was not directed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) or direct to the President or Chief of Defence Staff of at worst Minister of Defence or the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd. But it was directed to the Minister of State (Defence),who immediately acted on it immediately.

“It’s curious that after the Nigerian Navy, in a statement by the Director of Naval Information, Rear Admiral Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, denied the allegations as untenable and baseless, the Minister of State Defence office spoke about it and elaborately too, in a statement to the media.

“I am of the view that if the federal Government is serious about tackling the menace of oil thieves which is injurious to our economy, it must look inwards at some characters in the government and fish them out.

“If President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wants its anti-oil theft drive in the Niger Delta to succeed, it must deploy all necessary machinery to fish them out and prevent unnecessary distractions from some ignoble characters.”

It would be recalled that On January 26, 2024, Minister of State for Defence, Muhammed Bello Matawalle, announced that the federal government has launched investigations into “the serious corrupt allegations” against Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla.

The Minister, in a statement by Henshaw Ogubike, Director Information, Press & Public Relations of Ministry of Defence, said that the investigations will be far-reaching because President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has zero tolerance for corruption in Nigeria’s public service.

Matawalle therefore said this explains the imperative of a thorough and impartial investigation to ascertain the truth of these claims.