…Commends Firm For Engaging Host Communities
By Amos Odhe, Yenagoa.
Stakeholders in the Niger Delta region are now calling on the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL, and the Federal Government to expand the scope of the work of Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, PINL, beyond the Eastern Corridor to the entire country.
The call, they said became necessary following PINL’s achievement of near zero infractions on the Trans Niger Pipeline, TNP, crisscrossing 215 communities in the Eastern Corridor.
The stakeholders made the demand during the monthly engagement meeting with stakeholders from pipelines host communities organised by PINL in Bayelsa State.
They noted PINL’s strategy of consistent dialogue with host communities and engagement of community youths for surveillance jobs as strategic gestures which have helped to secure the pipelines and thereby boosting the nation’s revenue.
Chairman of Southern Ijaw Traditional Rulers Council, HRH, King Darius Job, who led the call at the stakeholders meeting averred that the entire pipeline communities in the state were satisfied with the operations of the firm in their domain.
He acknowledged that the operations of PINL have helped to reduce cases of pollution and mitigated crisis in their communities.
“I want to thank you for what you are doing to protect our pipelines and I think overall the damage has reduced.
“With the way you people are going, the whole Bayelsa State is hailing your work and if you continue like this, our prayer is that the whole pipelines in the federation should be handed over to you for proper surveillance work so that our pipelines will be safer and for federal government to earn more money to do developmental projects,” he said.
King Job however, called for increased incentives for the surveillance guards engaged by the company saying, “Our celebration here is because of those people in the bush (surveillance guards) so they should be given prefrencial treatment with some sort of incentives so that they will work happier while they are in the forest”.
Also speaking, HRM, King Funpere Gabriel Okah, King of Gbarain Kingdom said they have witnessed changes since the company started operations in their domain.
He called on the stakeholders to rally behind the surveillance firm.
“I want to encourage you to do more because we have seen changes. In my kingdom there is no vandalisation because we believe that if you do that, we cause more problem for ourselves. Let us support companies coming to work for us,” he stated.
For his part, Dr Morris Alagoa, a frontline environmentalist and Deputy Director, Environmental Rights Defenders Network, corroborated the fact that PINL’s operations was yielding results especially in the area of environmental protection as he said the incidents of pipeline vandalism and oil spills has drastically reduced.
“PINL is really not only protecting the environment from recurring spills but have also enable the nation to have more volumes in terms of crude oil production and this translate to more revenue for the country,” he said.
Alagoa added: “It is a thing of joy that PINL is doing what they are doing, mitigating crisis in communities and also ensuring these spills no longer happening and that’s safeguarding the environment”.
Earlier, Dr Akpos Mezeh, General Manager, Community Relations and Stakeholders Engagement of PINL, disclosed that the firm has recorded zero infractions on the TNP in the last one year, ascribing the feat to stakeholders collaboration and strategic engagement by the firm.
“I’m delighted to inform you that, in line with our core mission of securing the Eastern Corridor pipelines, PINL has recorded near-zero incidents in the past month. This outstanding result speaks volumes about the strength of our collaboration with host communities and the commitment of our teams on the ground.
“These achievements are rooted in the consistent application of proven strategies—ensuring the safety of our surveillance personnel, timely salary payments, and rapid community dispute resolution, all contributing to reduced downtime and increased trust,” he stated.
Dr Mezeh disclosed that the company’s scope of work is now expanding into all national assets including gas pipelines.
He used the medium to announce the company’s corporate social responsibility packages for women and youths of the host communities adding that a committee was already set up to implement a planned scholarship programme for them.
Dr Mezeh further reiterated the company’s commitment to the safety of it’s workers and welfare of host communities.
Our correspondents reports that representatives from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, Defense Headquarters and the Project Monitoring Office of the the NNPCL attended the stakeholders meeting.
