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By Amos Odhe, Yenagoa
Ex-agitators and other stakeholders in the Niger Delta have reaffirmed their commitment to partner with Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, PINL, to sustain the relative peace and security currently enjoyed on the Eastern Corridor of the Trans Niger Pipeline, TNP.
The stakeholders gave the assurance on Sunday during PINL’s August stakeholders’ meeting held in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
Chairman of the First Phase Ex-Agitators Forum, Mr. Jacob Braveman, popularly known as “Colonel Braveman,” said the group was impressed with PINL’s inclusive engagement model and pledged continued support for the surveillance and protection of oil and gas facilities under the firm’s watch.
“We want to guarantee PINL our continued partnership towards the protection of oil and gas pipelines and related facilities within its catchment area.
“PINL is one company that has evolved a special model of engagement with stakeholders within the Eastern Corridor of the TNP. Because of that model, there is a relatively low rate of vandalism and fewer worries from host communities,” Braveman said.
He added that the ex-agitators, who are familiar with the creeks and waterways where pipelines criss-cross, would sustain the synergy to enable Nigeria to meet and even surpass its OPEC production quota.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council and Ibenanowei of Ekpetiama Kingdom, King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV, commended PINL for contributing to peace and stability in the region through its stakeholder engagement, outreach programmes, and scholarship scheme.
The monarch cautioned against third-party interference on oil pipelines and urged the firm not to be distracted by the activities of other companies that, he alleged, fail to carry stakeholders along in their operations.
Also speaking, PINL’s General Manager, Community and Stakeholder Relations, Dr. Akpos Mezeh, said operations across the TNP and the Eastern Gas Network had remained largely uninterrupted in recent months due to sustained collaboration with security agencies, contractors, and host communities.
“World-class energy infrastructure can only thrive where pipelines are secure, communities are peaceful, and stakeholders work together.
“We sincerely appreciate your continued partnership and unwavering support in protecting the Trans Niger Pipeline, the Eastern Gas Network, and other critical national assets,” Mezeh stated.
He noted that the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, designed to transport 30 billion cubic metres of gas annually from Nigeria to Morocco, also depends on the same security and community stability framework. He added that the project, was recently backed by an Intergovernmental Agreement signed by ECOWAS Heads of State during the summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The Director-General of the Bayelsa State Centre for Youth Development, Comrade Robert Igali, also lauded PINL for its community-friendly policies which, he said, have deepened stakeholder participation in pipeline protection across the Eastern Corridor.
In his goodwill message, a representative of the Project Monitoring Office of the NNPCL, Engr. Akponime Omojevwhe, thanked stakeholders for their collaboration, noting that the absence of infractions and vandalism during the period under review was a direct result of the synergy with PINL.
He stressed that such cooperation was critical to increasing oil and gas production for the economic benefit of the nation.
