After touring 215 communities with gifts and palliatives, PINL, one of the pipeline protection firms, has returned with a message of hope for crude oil boost.

Nigeria slumped to as low as 900 barrels per day before the amnesty programme was launched. The FG later gave out contracts to some companies to protect the pipelines especially those that deliver crude to export terminals in Bonny and Escravos.

This led to growth of daily crude oil output to 1.3mbpd and recently to almost 1.7mbpd. One of the pipeline protection companies, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL), has mandate in four states of Rivers, Bayelsa, Imo and Abia states.

The company employs youths in the areas of coverage and has launched a robust corporate social responsibility (CSR) scheme that makes them corporate helper to the 215 communities.

Now, information filtering in from the communities indicate that hope is high that the target of 1.8mbpd is achievable and the larger dream of 2.4mbpd could be attempted in the near future.

PINL last weekend concluded a week-long palliatives distribution to its 215 host communities in the four mandate states.

This is as the communities have commended the company for what they described as an ‘unprecedented show of love’ since the pipelines passed through their communities.

The exercise had the company reaching out to benefitting communities assembled at six different strategic distribution points to receive different food items including rice, beans, garri, Indomie, salt, among others. They also gave out palliatives to flood victims within their mandate areas.

The humanitarian tour was led by Deborah Okunbo, CEO of Learn and Leadwise Resources Limited, assisted by Akpos Mezeh (PhD), the Community Relations Consultant for PINL.

The palliatives distribution, which concluded without any mishap began on Monday with a press conference during which the CEO Learn and Leadwise Resources Limited, consultants to PINL on CSR programme, explained that the exercise was part of a bouquet of CSR programme packaged by PINL for its pipeline host communities.

Preceding the palliatives distribution was a consultation of 11 top traditional rulers of the host communities to inform them about the planned exercise, with the monarchs praising the move and pledging their support. In some instances, they made suggestions on the modalities to ensure a hitch-free exercise. This way, the buy-in of the communities was fully obtained.

The exercise which commenced at the Tai local government secretariat at Saapkenwa, for about 35 communities across Andoni, Bonny Eleme, Gokana and Tai local government areas, moved to Owaza community (Ukwa West LGA of Abia State and Rivers States) for 32 different communities.

The team moved to Bayelsa state where 52 communities of southern Ijaw, Ogbia, and Yenagoa were treated to mouth-watering gifts in addition to food palliatives of mattresses and blankets as part of relief package for the recent flooding experienced by some communities there.

According to the PINL schedule, some 19 communities in Ohaji/Egbema LGA of Imo State were next and it took place at Ohaji LGA.

The PINL food palliatives train landed at Ahoada East at St. Paul’s State Primary School, Ahoada, where 37 communities from Ahoada East, Ahoada West, Abual/Odual and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government areas were assembled to receive their portion of food palliatives and relief materials.

The six days palliatives tour of communities was concluded at Emohua Local Government Secretariat where Emohua, Etche, Ikwerre and Obio/Akpor local government areas gathered to receive their share of the food palliatives.

Speaking to the communities at Emohua on the last day, Okunbo (CEO, Learn and Leadwise Resources Limited, consultant to PINL on the CSR programme) repeated the message to all the other benefitting communities.

She restated that; “The purpose of this is to first appreciate the support and corporation we’ve enjoyed from the host communities along this axis and also to solicit for more support and effort towards curbing pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft and illegal bunkering”.

She said it was to emphasise that the main target of the CSR Programme is to give the people a sense of ownership and responsibility to the assets on their land, encourage them to be part of their security and protection thereby eliminating pipeline vandalism, oil theft and kpo-fire in the communities.

I his response, which also echoed what representatives of other communities had said earlier, a chief, Adolphus Nyegbeke Umesi, Paramount Ruler of Omuobizu and Chairman, Ibaa Council of Chiefs, expressed appreciation to PINL for the gesture, describing it as the first of its kind to the communities.

He said; “We celebrate PINL for the palliatives. We have not seen this before, but this one has motivated us to be here. That’s why we are patient, we are salivating, we are hoping, we are celebrating. So that’s why we are here.

“My feeling is that these people will not be like other multinationals in our communities because what they’ve done now is a conviction that good things will come. And we also have assured them that vandalization has to stop. We have to make sure of that promise by working day and night. So, we just urge them to keep up the good work”.

In an interview with journalists on the sidelines of the end of the palliatives distribution, Okunbo assessed the programme as a huge success devoid of any sad incident.

“I feel fulfilled. I really thank God for the success of it. There were no incidents, no issues whatsoever. Everything went seamlessly. I mean all the 215 communities have been attended to and each has received their palliatives and looking forward to the next feature on the initiative, on the CSR initiative by the organization”.

So, she said, most of the community members spoke highly of PINL. They were quite happy with the gesture. She added: “Of course, they solicited for more, but they said it was first of its kind. And, you know, they would give their full support to whatever PINL is expecting of them. And they hope for better working relations with the organization.

“Yes, of course, it was a positive response. I was glad to hear what they had to say. I’m hoping that the cordial relationship with the communities will continue and it would lead to elimination of pipeline vandalism and Kpo fire”.

She assured the people that with their continued cooperation with the company, the CSR programme, which she said is a one-year programme, would be concluded with a medical outreach, skill acquisition, agriculture training, among others.

She encouraged youths to stop pipeline vandalism saying “If they’re able to contain that, then we’re able to increase production, the economy will get better.

“I do understand that there are challenges all around, but if you’re innovative enough and intelligent enough to bust pipeline, you can actually use the intelligence to do something more positive. So what I would encourage is for us to look for better ways to channel our intelligence to doing productive and positive things. This is because we see that when we burst pipelines it actually affects the environment our lands become not useful to us and we are not able to farm or fish. Such things affect the livelihoods of the people in the community, their health as well and in the long run you find out that poverty would become prevalent in that environment. But if we’re able to channel our energies and our intelligence to more productive things then you find out that prosperity would abound in the communities and there’ll be little or no, in fact elimination of vandalism altogether. There was a time there was no vandalism of pipelines. That’s where we want to get back to and improve on that as well”.

Various community leaders and persons who spoke with newsmen across the 215 communities were united in their demand for other forms of CSR projects to transform the lives of the youths, and an assurance that this would put a stop to pipeline vandalism.