Some members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have called on the Federal Government to extend the surveillance contract of Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd (PINL) beyond the current three months.
The lawmakers include Rt. Hon. Dumle Maol; Hon. John Dominic Iderema; and Hon. Sokari Goodboy Sokari; representing Gokana, Abua/Odual and Ahoada West constituencies, respectively,
This is as the lawmakers have rated the company high on its performance on the pipeline surveillance contract across affected Niger Delta states.
PINL is one of the contractors engaged by the Federal Government to implement its security surveillance policy of oil industry assets, especially pipelines, in the Niger Delta.
The contract, which has just lasted nearly a year, has PINL covering hundreds of communities in four states of Abia, Bayelsa, Imo and Rivers, hosting pipelines and other crude oil assets.
But following the ravaging effects of oil theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal refining, the Federal Government resorted to the policy of pipeline surveillance with PINL being one of the contractors.
Records show that gross terminal recovery factors have moved from 3% in 2022 to over 97% as at May 30, 2023, attributable to PINL strategic deployment and operations in the Eastern corridor.
Recently, the contract was renewed by the Federal Government by another three months with expiration date set for sometime in October, 2023.
Speaking to journalists on the performance of the contractors, the three lawmakers, whose constituencies are oil facility hosts, expressed joy with PINL for its high quality performance, stating that the company has reduced oil theft through pipeline vandalism and illegal refining of petroleum products by over 90 percent in its short period of engagement.
They attributed the success of the company to its far-reaching community engagement strategy through which they touched base with all host community stakeholders of pipeline and other facilities, saying it gave everyone a sense of belonging and made them active participants in the fight against the menace of illegal oil bunkering.
The lawmakers, therefore, urged the Federal Government to extend the surveillance contract, saying that the three months extension recently granted the company was not long enough.
They warned that if the contract was not further renewed, the oil thieves might return at the end of the extended three months.
In his statement, the lawmaker representing Gokana State Constituency and Deputy Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Dumle Maol, acknowledged that the presence of PINL in his area has saved the people from the multi-dimensional challenges of oil thieves and illegal bunkering.
Maol, who represents a part of Ogoniland with several kilometers of pipeline, said; “I hear that they were told to be on site for another three months, meaning that in days to come, their contract will elapse.
“Question is, if you don’t ask them to continue, what will happen to the place? It will be vulnerable for these crude oil thieves to come back and do what they used to do before, and we don’t intend to go back to the dark days.
“I believe that asking them to come back will mean that they need to double their efforts and bring new innovations that will make them improve and do better than what they are doing now.
“Before now, it had been an eye sore. In my community, B-Dere, it used to be horrible, when you see individuals just wake up one morning and go to destroy pipelines all in the guise of getting crude oil for illegal refining.
“So, I urge the Federal Government to quickly do the needful by extending the contract in a sustainable term, not three months, not one month but a long term award that will make them relax and think of what to do to sustain what they are already doing”, the lawmaker added.
Also speaking, Hon. Iderema said, “If tremendous progress has not been made, I don’t think Mr President would have extended it by three months. For him to have extended the contract by three months, it means he’s satisfied with PINL activities in the Niger Delta.
“Now, for me, the three months period is too short because once they know that PINL is leaving in three months’ time, they too will be prepared. That very day that the company pulls out, they will move in and start their illegal activities again.
“I’m proposing for the Federal Government to give them, at least, one year period of probation again. Whoever the Federal Government wants to monitor PINL, they should bring the person to monitor them for a period of one year, at least. Three months is too short.
“For me, going by what we had before they came in, I don’t think anybody would want to change a football team that’s winning, they would want to sustain such football team. So, I believe that the Federal Government will want to strengthen this PINL so they can achieve greater heights”, Iderema stated.
“Before 2022, pipeline vandalism was a real menace to the two local government areas” of Abua/Odual and Ahoada East.
“It was terrible, it was a big problem for the state and the society. People died, it was becoming unbearable. The soot alone, you can’t fetch water and leave it open for 5 minutes. You know, in these localities, we have open bathroom.
“So, by the time you fetch water from the tap or from the mono pump, by the time you finish bathing, you will notice oil with particles, which we learnt contains benzine and it can cause cancer.
“You can’t have natural air to breathe, you can’t open your windows because by the time you open your windows and touch your plates or cutlery, you see black soot. Then, it became a permanent stain on the soles of our feet. That was hazardous, it was a big problem, but with the contract in place, things have changed for the better”, Iderema noted.
On his part, Hon. Sokari said; “Honestly speaking, vandalism or oil bunkering has affected us so much as a people. The activities of these illegal bunkerers and refiners have affected our land. It has disrupted the ecosystem and negatively impacted on agriculture which is the main occupation of my people.
“Before now, we don’t know if there was any arrangement between the government and the private sector on how to safeguard these facilities, but lately, we have seen some changes; and that move has drastically reduced illegal refining activities that we see around our area”.
Sokari said; “Initially, when they came, we felt it was going to be a kind of recurring decimal. We didn’t know that it will work. PINL moved straight to wherever they were and life became unbearable for them and they had to leave.
“If I’m to score them between 1 and 100, I will give them 90 percent and above. For PINL to have made the youths of these communities engaged, they are happy. They are gainfully employed; they get salary every month. So, that also is a plus for PINL”.