The United Niger Delta Congress (UNDC) has urged the Federal Government to increase the pipeline surveillance contract of Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL), citing improved crude oil supply, the restoration of shut-in oil property and employment alternatives within the Niger Delta.
The group made the decision on Saturday following the advice of the House of Representatives Committee on Host Communities, via its technical subcommittee, which investigated allegations towards PINL and its Managing Director, Dr Osahon Okunbo.
In a press release issued in Abuja and signed by its nationwide president, Mallam Julius Obi, the UNDC stated the subcommittee discovered the allegations towards the corporate and its management to be unsubstantiated and beneficial that the petition be dismissed and that additional investigation be discontinued.
The group stated the panel additionally beneficial commendation for PINL’s operations in defending oil and fuel infrastructure, a vote of confidence within the pipeline surveillance association and an extension of the corporate’s contract.
According to the UNDC, the committee’s findings underscore the significance of efficiency and proof in assessing contractors liable for defending crucial nationwide property.
The group stated PINL introduced a written account of its operations, supported by geotagged photographic proof, whereas the petitioners failed to seem earlier than the subcommittee on September 14, September 22 and October 5, 2026.
The UNDC’s assertion highlighted enhancements in crude oil supply via the Trans Niger Pipeline, noting that when PINL commenced operations in August 2022, solely 3% of the crude pumped via the pipeline reached the Bonny Terminal.
By September 2026, the determine had risen to 98 per cent, in response to the group.
It additionally stated Oil Mining Lease (OML) 11, which had been shut in for 18 months, was restarted inside 90 days of PINL’s engagement.
The firm was additional credited with remediating 2,049 unlawful pipeline connections and destroying 1,010 unlawful refinery clusters.
The UNDC stated PINL’s operations cowl 215 host communities, with greater than 35,600 surveillance guards recruited from the Niger Delta.
Its operational property embody 28 ahead bases, 130 boats, 175 automobiles and 25 drones deployed to observe pipelines and different oil and fuel infrastructure throughout the area.
The group argued that the dimensions of the operations demonstrated the financial significance of community-based surveillance in lowering crude oil losses and enhancing the safety of petroleum infrastructure.
Beyond safety operations, the UNDC stated PINL had supplied greater than 5,000 scholarships to youngsters in host communities and skilled over 4,000 girls and women in vocational abilities.
It added that the corporate had additionally supplied flood aid to greater than 10 communities in Rivers State.
The group maintained that extending the contract would assist protect employment alternatives, maintain enhancements in crude oil manufacturing and strengthen financial actions in host communities.
It urged the Federal Government to offer an extended contract tenure, arguing that continuity would consolidate the good points recorded within the Eastern Corridor and supply better certainty for staff and different stakeholders.
The UNDC additionally highlighted the management of Okunbo, who succeeded his late father, Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo, founding father of Ocean Marine Solutions, from which the group stated PINL’s operational foundations emerged.
According to the assertion, the youthful Okunbo sustained the corporate’s operations following the management transition and expanded its group engagement and pipeline surveillance actions.
The group urged the federal government to create extra alternatives for younger Nigerians able to managing strategic nationwide assignments, describing PINL’s efficiency for instance of youth management within the oil and fuel trade.
It additionally counseled President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Security Adviser and the administration of NNPC Limited for his or her roles in supporting efforts to guard the nation’s oil and fuel infrastructure.
However, the corporate’s operational efficiency figures and the main points of the legislative panel’s suggestions have been contained within the UNDC’s assertion and weren’t independently verified for this report.
The name for an extension comes amid ongoing efforts to guard oil infrastructure, curb crude oil theft, and enhance manufacturing and income era in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
The Federal Government’s determination on the contract’s future will probably be important for PINL’s workforce, host communities and the broader oil trade, the place sustained manufacturing and lowered losses stay vital to authorities income.
We’ve obtained the sting. Get real-time studies, breaking scoops, and unique angles delivered straight to your cellphone. Don’t accept stale information. Join LEADERSHIP NEWS on WhatsApp for twenty-four/7 updates →
