Pipeline contracts: CSOs, warns against blackmailing Tinubu, Kyari

The Civil Society Groups for Good Governance (CSGGG) have urged Nigerians to dismiss threats and campaigns of calumny against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over the award of pipeline security to a supposed ‘Northern Cabal’.
They made the call on Sunday in Abuja at a media briefing by President CSG, Comrade Dominick Ogakwu.
Ogakwu warned blackmailers to stop the meaningless agitations and threats against the NNPCL and its Group CEO, Mallam Mele Kyari.
He noted that sustained unwarranted smear campaign against the achievements and the continued progress of NNPC Limited in some section of the media is uncalled for and a disservice to the nation.
“Peddling gross misinformation and unsubstantiated allegations on oil pipeline rehabilitation as well as surveillance contracts has now been adopted as a weapon of choice in the hands of these unpatriotic elements,” he said.
Comrade Ogakwu added, “We urge those who are bent on undermining the transformative leadership of President Bola Tinubu to rethink and stop these baseless agitations and threats.
“Instead, they can contribute positively to support the progress and growth of NNPC Limited under the patriotic leadership of Mele Kyari. We have only one country to build.
“Peddling gross misinformation and unsubstantiated allegations on oil pipeline rehabilitation and surveillance contracts has now become a weapon of choice for these unpatriotic elements,” Ogakwu said.
He said the allegations to discredit Mele Kyari were a ploy to distract the President Bola Tinubu administration, which is not what the country needs at the moment.
He said, “The claim of ‘quietly awarding the control of Nigeria’s pipelines to a Northern oil cabal’ is not only fallacious but also cowardly.”
Ogakwu said that the level of work that goes into contracting any firm to secure the oil pipeline was enormous and required multi-agency participation for transparency purposes.
He said that the task of pipeline security was not an easy one and therefore required specific capabilities to qualify.
“This initiative has led to many seizures of tankers laden with illegal crude and the discovery of a four-kilometre illegal oil connection line from Forcados Terminal into the sea, which had been in operation for nine years.
“Nigerians have seen NNPC make a profit for the first time in 44 years, growing from N287 billion in 2020 to N674.1 billion in the 2021 financial period.
“The figure represented an increase of N387 billion, or 134.8 per cent when compared to the previous profit recorded in 2020.
“Regarding refineries, the timeline of December remains for the Port Harcourt refinery to be back on stream and ameliorate the present difficulty caused by a spike in forex,” Ogakwu said.