From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, Tuesday in Kano, lamented the huge cost incurred in securing and resuscitating vandalised oil pipelines across the country.
Baru, who was speaking during a courtesy call on the Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, stressed that contrary to widely held impression that pipeline vandalism was restricted to the Niger Delta region, the unfortunate phenomenon has become widespread across the country.
The GMD, alongside his team, was in the state for the re-commissioning ceremony of the loading operations of its Kano depot.
According to Baru, there were, for instance, several breaches of the pipelines between Kaduna refinery to Kano depot, adding that at some point in the past, it was almost a hopeless case to try and put products on the lines as they would be instantly breached.
He regretted that the huge monies spent on repairs of destroyed lines and in providing security along the pipelines could otherwise have been invested in other fruitful ventures by the corporation.
Baru stressed that through diligent efforts, the NNPC had been addressing these challenges, as a result of which it was able to transfer over 20 billion litres of diesel from Kaduna refinery into tanks in Kano depot.
He called on the Kano State government to continue to support the NNPC in addressing the issue of security of its pipelines in the state.
“We hope you will support us by helping in apprehending the vandals and where we apprehend them directly and hand them to the appropriate law enforcement agencies, you will help us to ensure that these vandals are properly brought to justice and prosecuted and possibly kept away from the larger society,” he stated.
He expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for his various support for the rehabilitation of facilities that contribute to the continuous supply of the product nationwide.
In his remarks, the Governor, who was represented by his Deputy, Prof. Abubakar Hafiz, expressed delight at the re-commissioning of the depot while acknowledging that it would assist in boosting economic activities in the state.
He also assured the management of NNPC of the continued support in all its undertakings in the state even as he proposed the setting up of a joint committee consisting of the state and the corporation to create a security arrangement for the pipelines.