The Group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has revealed that churches, mosques, security agencies as well as communities where pipelines pass through, are involved in pipeline vandalism and theft of petroleum products.
He made the disclosure Tuesday at the weekly ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communication Team at the State House in Abuja.
He said: "As you may also be aware because of the very unfortunate acts of vandals along our major pipelines from Atlas Cove all the to Ibadan, and all others connecting all the 37 depots that we have across the country. You know, none of them can take delivery of products today.
"And the reason is very simple. For some of the lines, for instance, from Warri to Benin, we haven't operated that line for 15 years. Every molecule of product that we put get lost. And of course, you remember the sad incident of fire incident very close to Warri, close to Sapele that killed so many people.
"So, we had to shut it down and as we speak, ladies and gentlemen, the level of losses that we have on our product pipeline, and I'm sure you may have seen it and I will invite you at the right time, so we can take a look at it jointly.
"You remember that Lagos area. When a fire outbreak happened in one of our pipelines, we discovered that some of the pipelines were actually connected to individuals' homes. And not only that, and with all sensitivity to our religious beliefs, you know, some of the pipelines and some of the products that we found, are actually in churches and mosques.
"That means that everybody is involved. There is no way you will take products, bring them in trucks in populated neighborhoods, load them, and leave without everybody else knowing about it.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
"That everybody includes members of the community, members of the religious leadership, and also and most likely government officials of all natures, including security agencies personnel. They are everywhere.
"And I've seen this even in the Niger Delta. There's no way you would deliver a volume and lose upto 30 per cent and you will continue to put t in this line," Kyari said.
He also declared that the decision to hire private contractors including that of Nigerian militant commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Government Ekpemupolo, otherwise known as Tompolo, to man its oil pipeline network nationwide, was the right one.
On decision to hire private contractors to man its oil pipeline network nationwide, Kyari argued that although the security agencies were doing their part, end-to-end pipeline surveillance would require the involvement of private entities and community stakeholders.
He added, "We need private contractors to man the right of way to these pipelines. So we put up a framework for contractors to come and bid and they were selected through a tender process. And we believe we made the right decision."
