The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) says it has no questions about the performance of Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL). Traditional rulers and youth leaders across the Niger Delta have added their own endorsements of the company’s work.
PINL is the integrated pipeline infrastructure company responsible for the Eastern corridor of the Trans Niger Pipeline and the Eastern Gas Network. The remarks were made at the company’s bimonthly stakeholders meeting in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Engr. Omojevwhe Akponime, Head of Field Operations, Eastern Corridor, at the NNPCL Project Monitoring Office, said NNPCL’s daily reviews show the lines in PINL’s area of coverage running green. He described a recent NNPCL management session where the floor was opened for questions to the asset owner.
”There is no question for PINL,” he said management replied. “They said so because they are doing well.”
For host communities, the change has been felt on the land itself. The Eze Ekpeye-Logbo, King Kevin Anugwo, said that before PINL began operations, soot made it impossible to dry clothes outdoors, and homes had to be swept several times a day. Crude oil from theft had overrun farmland and fishing waters. He said residents of Ekpeye have since returned to their farms and rivers.
”You came, you saw us, and you engaged our youths,” he said. “You removed them from the forest. You made them drop their guns, and now we enjoy peace in our communities.”
The Eze Eberi-Ugo Omuma, King Onyekachi Amaonwu, called for closer collaboration between traditional rulers, host communities and the company. He said lasting results depend on that partnership. “There is no pipeline in Abuja,” he said. “It is here.”
Engr. Legborsi Yamaabana, spokesperson of the Niger Delta Ethnic Youth Leaders Forum, welcomed the Federal Government’s renewal of PINL’s contract. Responding to recent criticism of the contract from some quarters in the region, he said the youths, monarchs, women and community leaders of the Niger Delta stand with the company.
”As Niger Delta people, we have adopted PINL as our own,” he said.
