The Group Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Limited, Melee Kyari, on Tuesday, said some illegal petroleum products piplelines were connected to Churches and Mosques.
He also said that the shutting down of pipelines in the country was deliberate.
The CEO also said that the reason for shutting down the refineries include the challenge of not operating as an organization, thus making them to sustain sheds.
Speaking when he included at the ministerial rundown arranged by the Presidential Communications Team at the State House, Kyari said that
the authorities of the NNPC borrowed one billion US dollars from the AFREXIM Bank to put in place the refineries.
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He added that the monitoring of the company was confident that it was recovering the company for regarding 90 percent effectiveness.
He further noted that the repayment of the borrowed cash was linked to the efficiency of the refineries, flaunting that NNPC would certainly supply on the rehab exercise.
He also ensured that there would certainly not be any type of importation of petroleum products by the center of next year.
While regreting on the degree of sheds on the country’s pipelines, he said that the villainous company of pipe mischief-makers crosses different regions and spiritual organisations where the pipelines pass through.
According to Kyari, a few of the pipelines are illegally connected around Churches and Mosques.
The CEO said that the NNPC management is building National Reserve Company.
Maintaining that the issue of petroleum theft is actual and occurring, he said the company was not helpless as its efforts were repaying.
He said that 295 illegal links were discovered in one line, in much less than 200 meters, which the company with the assistance of the protection companies and the instruction of the Chief of Defence Staff, they had the ability to interfere.
He said so far, 30 Speed Boats, 179 Wooden Boats, 37 trucks have been seized, but that the authorities have taken the choice not to jail any type of longer but to burn such confiscated products.
He said, 122 individuals comprising highly put individuals have been detained in between April and August and that some of them have been handed over to the Econonic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
He said 739 stoves for the illegal petroleum theft have been found and some ruined, 344 reservoir produced and 355 cooking pots also uncovered, stressing that the degree of the illegal business was huge.
” It merely implies damage of atmosphere. We have lost profits,” he declared.
On the alleged contract to the former Niger Delta agitator, Government Ekpemupolo also referred to as Tompolo, the NNPC CEO said that the contract was not awarded to Tompolo as an individual, but a company he has interest in.
He discussed that it was not the first time that individuals within the Niger Delta area were awarded a contract for pipe monitoring, noting that the contract was for the passion of the people.
He said it was his idea that the Federal Government has taken the right decision to work with private service providers to man its oil pipeline network across the country.
Kyari said that although the protection companies are doing their part, end-to-end pipe monitoring would certainly call for the involvement of private entities and neighborhood stakeholders.
He said: “We need exclusive specialists to man the right-of-way to these pipelines.
” So we put up a framework for specialists to bid and come and they were chosen through a tender process. And we believe we made the right decision.”
According to earlier records, among those selected is a former Nigerian militant leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Government Ekpemupolo, primarily described as Tompolo.
Fielding further questions on the contract, Kyari clarified that although the Federal Government is not dealing straight with the previous creek warlord, it has signed a contract with a company in which Tompolo has interests.
“We have taken the right choice,” he said.