The Federal Government has ordered the Nigerian Naval Command to investigate and stop the increasing influx of foreign trawlers into the nation’s territorial waters for alleged indiscriminate fishing.
The Federal Government, according to the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Heineken Lokpobiri, has ordered that rising cases of indiscriminate fishing without proper documentation and Permission will no longer be tolerated.
The Minister for Agriculture and Rural development, while addressing some issues raised during the interactive session held with Bayelsa farmers in Yenagoa, said the influx of foreign trawlers to Nigerian territorial waters through the coast to fish without the permission of the Federal Government would no longer be tolerated.
He said that the presidency had directed the Chief of Naval Staff to look into the matter with immediate effect. Lokpobiri also enjoined the indigenes of Bayelsa and other states of the region to embrace peace while the Federal Government would continue to provide ways of boosting the economy.
He expressed concern about pipeline destructions by youths in the region, urging them to go into agriculture. Lokpobiri also advised the people of the Niger Delta region to invest in farming as loans would be provided for them by Bank of Industry and Agricultural Development Bank in Bayelsa.
Source: S&P
