Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL), the private security company in charge of the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) and the Eastern Gas Network (EGN) has offerred scholarship grants to over 1500 students from the pipeline host communities in the Niger Delta totalling over two billion naira.
Beneficiaries of the scholarship grant were drawn from the 216 pipeline and gas host communities of Rivers, Bayelsa, Imo and Abia States.
Also, undergraduate students got 500 thousand while postgraduate students were giving one million each to pursue their academics.
Performing the ceremonial handover of cheques at the April monthly stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt, Dr. Akpos Mezeh, General Manager, Community and Stakeholders Relation of PINL, said the gesture was the company’s way of appreciating the communities for their support in protecting the pipelines.
”This is our own way of saying thank you to our host communities and one way of doing that is the scholarship grants to undergraduate and post-graduate students from our host communities and the beneficiaries are totalled over 1500.
”For the scholarship, we have disbursed over 2 billion naira and this is exclusive of women empowerment and skill acquisition programmes, ” he said.
The PINL official charged youths of the host communities to shun pipeline vandalism and oil theft, but to maximize opportunities provided by the firm to better their lives.
”We are thanking them for supporting us to protect the pipelines and we are using this medium to appeal to youths of our communities to shun pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft. They should endeavour to provide us with vital information to maintain the momentum,” he added.
He said the company intends to build on the momentum of zero-infraction so far recorded and to active the Federal Government’s target of 2 million barrels per day production.
”There is zero-infraction in all our areas of operation and today we are approaching the 2 million barrels per day projection of the Federal Government. We have already achieved 1.8million, our target is 2 million and it’s doable, ” Mezeh stated.
A beneficiary of the scholarship grant, Donald Justice, a postgraduate student of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUOE) expressed enthusiasm that the grant would enable him complete his studies on record time and without pressure.
”It is a welcome development. Initially I thought it was not real but the money came like a flash and I’m running the programme with so much ease. I’m so excited right now.
”What they are doing is empowering the society and the common man who never had hope of pursuing their education.
This finance would help me improve in my studies and it would spur me to inturn help others when I am capable. I thank PINL for giving me this opportunity,” he said.
