FG Determined To Stop Pipeline Vandals, Fight Them To Submission – Minister
…. Fubara Criticises FG For Awarding Pipeline Protection Contract To ‘One Man’
By Tunde Karounwi
The Federal Government is committed to putting a stop to pipeline vandalism in the oil-rich Niger Delta, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has said.
“We are here because of the problem of pipeline vandalisation. I believe it has become an existential problem and we need to fight them; we need to fight these criminals to submission,” Lokpobiri said on Saturday, after inspecting an illegal facility in Delta State.
“What is happening here is so bad that we may not even know the implication — unless maybe when people start dying in their numbers; that’s when people will know that a few persons were profiting from this crime [and we] are here to wipe all of them out.
“So, as a responsible government, we decided that we are going to put a stop to it. We’re going to work with stakeholders to ensure that we stop all this nonsense.”
Lokpobiri was accompanied by his counterpart for Gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo; the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru; and the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Meanwhile, Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, on Saturday, criticised the Federal Government for awarding the contract for the protection of crude oil pipelines to “one man”.
Fubara spoke when a Federal Government delegation on the security of oil and gas assets led by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, visited him at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
In August 2022, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, had justified the government’s decision to award a multi-billion naira pipelines surveillance contract to Tantita Security Services led by former militant leader Government Ekpemepulo aka Tompolo.
Though the Rivers governor did not mention any name, he said the strategy of the Federal Government won’t yield the expected results as an individual cannot have control over the assets in another’s territory.
Fubara, who decried the neglect of the state by the Federal Government, called on the delegation to ensure that the outcome of their task would be beneficial to both the Federal and the state governments.
He advised them to engage the people at the grassroots to better appreciate the situation in the Niger Delta area.
The governor said, “Security of pipeline should not be given to one man or one person. How can someone from Kalabari be controlling the pipeline in Ogoni? There is no way it will work.
“We must look at bringing all the key people in the various communities.
“Two of our sons from Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom are heading the ministry of petroleum. We don’t want them to fail. We must give them the necessary support.”
He advised the delegation to engage the right people so they can get the right information.
Fubara said that Rivers waged a strong war against illegal refining of crude oil under the leadership of the immediate past Governor, Nyesom Wike, and that his administration won’t lower the bar.
He said he does not think that the Niger Delta is benefitting as much as it should compared to its contribution to the national economy.
On his part, the NSA said the delegation is billed to visit Rivers and other Niger Delta states with a marching orders from President Bola Tinubu to end crude oil theft and illegal defining of petroleum products.
On the delegation with the NSA were the Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa; and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Taoreed Lagbaja.
Others include Minister of Defence, Muhammed Badaru; Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle; Minister of State (Oil), Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri; and Minister of State (Gas), Petroleum Resources, Ekperipe Ekpo.
