Amosun Blames NNPC for Pipeline Vandalism

The Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has attributed the incessant vandalism of petroleum pipelines in various parts of the country to the dereliction of duty on the part of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Amosun, who said this when he visited the scene of a vandalised pipeline along Iperu-Ogere road in Ikenne Local Government Area, said the act of vandalism was a reflection of the state of the nation.
According to him, “vandalism is a daily occurrence, which shows the way we are as a nation. I still maintain that NNPC is part of the problem, being the agency assigned to ensure that things like this do not happen. This is either a dereliction of duty or neglect on the part of the government agency.
The governor lamented a similar incident at Arepo, which claimed the life of a pregnant woman last week, pointing out that he had a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012 when they discussed how to combat the menace, but, nothing had been done till date.
Amosun, who said that governors who have the pipelines passing through their states, should be involved in checkmating the vandals.
While decrying the manner in which the Federal Government commissioned some vigilance groups to guard the pipelines, he noted that in this age and time when technology and relevant security agencies were in place, Nigeria should do better in safeguarding the pipelines and advised the Federal Government to employ the services of credible stakeholders and security agencies in forestalling the menace.
State Commander, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Akinwande Aboluwoye, urged all and sundry to give information to security agents on how to tackle vandalism to bring an end to both its environmental and economic havoc, saying “these vandals live among us”.