…Pipeline Vandalism impacts Negatively On Environment, Economy — Okowa
247ureports.com can authoritatively report that in continuation of their onslaughts, the Niger Delta Avengers, late Thursday night simultaneously bombed several pipelines operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) around Batan community in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State.
Local residents told reporters on phone that multiple explosions were held, a situation they said thrown people of the area into serious panic.
The damaged pipelines are said to be operated by the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) Limited both subsidiaries of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
It was gathered that both crude and gas trunk lines were severely affected in the Thursday’s attacks even as investigations revealed that the attacks occurred near a military checkpoint.
An industry source described the attacks as devastating and heinous as our source said the affected lines were strategic to the country’s oil production saying the nation’s oil production would greatly deplete due to Thursday’s night attacks.
A senior military officer confirmed the incident to our correspondent when contacted.
Also, the spokesman of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Mr Eric Omare, confirmed the incident amidst lamentation. Omare noted that the situation was getting out of hands.
The militant group also claimed responsibility for the attacks, threatening both International and indigenous oil companies to expect more of such attacks in the days ahead.
In several tweets announcing the attacks, the group said “At 11:45pm on Thursday.@NDAvengers blew up other #NNPC Gas and Crude trunk line close to Warri. Pipeline that was heavily guarded by Military.
“To the IOCs, Indigenous Oil Companies and Nigeria Military. Watch out something big is about to happen and it will shock the whole world.”
Another tweet added, “The Niger Delta stakeholder’s meeting is an insult to the people of Niger Delta. What we need is a Sovereign State not pipeline Contracts.”
The Niger Delta Avengers militant group has attacked Nigeria’s oil installations again.
Less than 12 hours after crippling operations at Chevron’s Escravo’s oil terminal, the militants struck again, blowing up a large gas and crude pipeline operated by Nigerian National Petroleum Company. The attack was carried out near Warri, the commercial capital of Nigeria’s Delta state.
The attackers taunted Nigerian government that their sabotage was carried out despite the presence of Nigerian soldiers.
“At 11:45pm on Thursday @NDAvengers blew up other #NNPC Gas and Crude trunkline close to Warri,” the group said on its Twitter feed. There was no independent confirmation of the incident. NNPC is yet to react.
This is coming on the heels of a high powered advocacy team headed by the Deputy Governor of the state which has begun its advocacy tour of the creeks even as the governor, Okowa told journalists that he would be briefed today by his Deputy on the journey so far.
Meanwhile, Governor Okowa has appealed to Deltans to protect oil facilities in their communities as pipeline vandalism impacts on the community’s environment and the state economy.
Senator Okowa who made the appeal during his maiden radio phone-in programme at Delta Broadcasting Service [DBS], Asaba, as part of activities marking his first year in office said that the incessant pipeline vandalism impacted negatively on the environment of the Niger/Delta region and the economy of the state.
According to him “we have been doing a lot of sensitisation and advocacy on ensuring peace and secured environment for our communities. We need to protect government facilities in our areas, the vandalism of pipelines affects our environment and the economy and development of the state more than the federal government, l plead with Deltans to learn to protect oil facilities in their communities because the damage causes pain to the immediate environment and to the state.”
“If vandalism stops, there will improvement to our economic growth and we will be able to carry out infrastructural development”, he added.
Governor Okowa stated that the present economic challenge in the state was as a result of the dwindling resources saying “l just learnt from the Accountant General of the state that this month allocation is about 3 billion naira, this cannot even pay the wage bill of workers put at over 7 billion naira. The low allocation is as a result of the recent pipeline vandalism in the state, this will also affect our allocation up to the month of August. This criminal act is destroying our state and preventing Deltans from enjoying the dividends of democracy to the fullest.”
The governor noted that his administration has done its best in the last one year to meet up with the campaign promises made to Deltans through infrastructural development, youth empowerment and actualizing the SMART agenda and assured Deltans of more dividends of democracy in his second year in office.
He said that his administration has put strategies in place to diversify the state economy and expand the tax base of the state in order to boost the internally generated revenue (IGR) for government to meet up its responsibility to the citizens.
While commending Deltans for their support, Senator Okowa urged them to fulfil their tax obligations to the state stressing “Please let us continue to support government by paying our taxes as when you pay your tax you make good citizens and government will meet your needs.”
He called on Deltans especially pensioners and civil servants to be patient with government, as infrastructural development would get them.
The governor explained that the state was grappling with the management of its over twelve higher institutions and would not embark on the building of more polytechnics given the present financial straits in the country, assuring that in the future if the need arose, it would give priority to the proposed four new polytechnics approved by the last administration.
