Pipeline vandalism occurs because of the way the pipelines were constructed, and failure of the Federal Government to develop the communities that play host to the pipelines, the Managing Director/Chief Executive officer, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), Oladele Amoda, has said.
Amoda said poor location of the pipelines, and the low level of development of the host communities are the two major reasons that make people to break pipelines, without considering its socio-economic implications to the country.
He said the pipelines were too close to each other, coupled with the fact that the host communities are aggrieved that the government has abandoned them by not providing infrastructural facilities in their areas to create a better life for them.
Amoda, who was represented by his Technical Assistant, Muyiwa Akinkemi, at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, said the pipelines were too close to each, arguing that it is easier to break two or three pipelines at once, without letting people around know.
Speaking on the topic ‘Ways of mitigating pipeline vandalism in Nigeria’,Akinkemi said the menace would reduce once the Federal Government and other stakeholders in the oil and gas value chain come together to fashion out ways of addressing the problem.
He said the government and the stakeholders must discuss the modalities of adjusting the ways the pipelines were located and also provide social amenities for the communities where the pipelines were sited.
He said: “Two problems made people to break gas pipelines. First is the issue of collocation, which is about the location or the positioning of the pipelines. The second one is lack of infrastructure and job opportunities in the communities that host the pipelines. The questions begging for answers are: why are pipelines located close to each other in Nigeria? Why is that pipelines were built few metres, and not hundreds of kilometres to each other.’’
He said the menace would reduce, once the problems, such as location of the pipelines and infrastructure, were addressed by the government. Amoda urged the government to develop the communities that are hosting the pipelines, and not their leaders.
He said when the communities are developed, many people would benefit, noting that few people benefit when leaders in the communities are developed by way of giving them money.
He said the perennial gas problem in the power sector can be addressed, when people stop breaking pipelines, adding that power supply will stabilise once the turbines were able to access enough gas for generation.