The Chief Executive Officer of Lead and Leadwise Recourse Ltd, Deborah Okunbo has said that several palliative initiatives of Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd for host communities and the whistle-blower policy have curbed illegal bunker and pipeline vandalism in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.
Okunbo said the initiatives have improved Nigeria’s crude oil output and restored the confidence of investors.
The Leadwise boss said this on Thursday during an interview on Arise TV, monitored by NewsNGR.
In December 2024, PINL commenced the distribution of palliative to 250 host communities across Rivers, Abia, Imo and Bayelsa states.
The project was aimed at providing food supply for thousands of Nigerians, especially in the oil-producing host communities.
Okunbo said the company which was established in 2019 discovered that there are two major threats against Nigeria’s crude oil production which are crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
She said the company is making an effort to eliminate multi-dimensional poverty in the region by providing healthcare and embarking on school projects.
She said these measures and providing palliatives are viable moves to encourage host communities to protect pipeline infrastructure in the country.
Okunbo said, “What they regularly do is to engage the community leaders on their needs and why they should protect pipelines.
“What PINL has done is to employ the youths in those communities to ensure that the pipelines are protected. So, they are engaging them to ensure that pipelines are protected.
“They went a step further to get their community contractors who they put in charge of protecting pipelines alongside security agencies.”
The CEO said the whistle blower policy is also paying off.
She said, “The whistle blower campaign came up as a result of feedbacks that were received from several quatres and it is actually yielding results. Some of the community members, when they see something, they say something.
“They understand the importance of ensuring that things are done properly.”