The Federal Government spends N60 billion annually in repairs and maintenance of vandalised pipelines, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said.
This is as the country lost in revenue N4.5 trillion, with an average of 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day due to activities of vandals in the region.
Mohammed revealed this on Monday at the Town Hall meeting in Abuja.
The town hall meeting focused on Protecting Oil and Gas Infrastructure.
The Ministers of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, Minister of Environment, Mohammed Mahmood Abubakar and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari were the panelists.
The minister who quoted statistics said between January 2019 and September 2020, 1,161 pipeline points across the country were vandalized.
In his words: “I do not intend to take the wind out of the sail of the experts who will speak on this issue, but with an average of 200,000 barrels per day lost to the wanton damage to pipelines and a huge amount of 60 billion Naira yearly to repair and maintain the vandalized points, one can only imagine the impact on the economy.
According to statistics, between January 2019 and September 2020, 1,161 pipeline points across the country were vandalized.”
He also added, “Apart from the impact on the nation’s earnings, consider also the environmental problems caused by the incessant vandalism, in terms of freshwater pollution, air pollution, soil pollution, etc., and you will appreciate the enormity of the problem.”
Adding his voice to the economic cost of vandals in the oil sector, NNPC GMD said Pipeline vandals and criminal gangs have stolen crude worth billions of naira.
