.Reps urge audit, risk assessment of pipeline installations
A revelation has surfaced regarding the alleged gathering in Arogbo, Ondo State, aimed at undermining the Federal Government and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) pipeline surveillance and security contract in the Niger Delta region.
The meeting, reportedly hosted by a militant from Arogbo Community, is purported to orchestrate disruptive actions targeting the nation’s hydrocarbon assets, stemming from grievances related to exclusion from the pipeline contract.
According to credible sources privy to the situation, the individual, identified as Ajube, is allegedly gripped by intense frustration as a result of unsuccessful attempts to manipulate and coerce the Federal Government and NNPCL into revising the terms of the pipeline surveillance contract.
This planned rendezvous in Arogbo is understood to be a final gambit to deceive authorities into reconsidering their stance to favour the dissenting group.
Insights gleaned from a reliable informant closely associated with the meeting’s host indicated a heightened state of agitation and determination to disrupt the ongoing pipeline surveillance and protection efforts that have demonstrated effectiveness over the past year.
Additionally, recent incidents of attacks on assets belonging to a private security company, coupled with threats to life in that Ondo riverine region, are believed to be linked to this nefarious agenda.
In response to this development, a stern admonition was directed towards key security and law enforcement agencies, including the Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Directorate of State Security (DSS), and the EFCC.
The message underscores the imperative of prioritising national interests above individual or factional agenda, emphasising that no entity should be permitted to jeopardise the integrity and stability of the nation’s economic assets.
Meanwhile, the Special Committee On Oil Theft/Losses of the House of Representatives has called for an audit and risk assessment of oil pipelines in the country.
Chairman of the Committee, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, during a working visit to the Commandant General of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Audi, in Abuja, remarked that the measure would go a long way in tackling oil theft, vandalism and other activities, which are inimical to the economic health of the country.
The lawmaker pledged to provide support for the NSCDC to protect critical national infrastructure, which includes oil pipelines and other oil and gas assets.
