NUPENG urges establishment of pipeline protection agency

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Written by Abdullateef Abubakar Jos

The conference is for the review of the union’s constitution.

Achese said that the agency should be responsible for monitoring, protecting and salvaging of the over 5000km stretch of pipelines that traversed Nigeria.

 "The union is not happy at the attitude of people who vandalise oil pipelines for pecuniary gains.

 "It has robbed the nation of billions of dollars that should have been used for development,’’ he said.

The unionists added that pipeline vandalism caused environmental degradation and pollution.

 Achese also called on the government to gather illegal refiners, train them and rehabilitate the legal refineries for them to work in, instead of ``chasing them around the creeks and destroying their tools’’.

 He said that the government should also establish more refineries to reduce fuel importation.

Achese urged the public and private sectors to provide jobs, build skill acquisition centres and introduce empowerment schemes to enable the citizens to be meaningfully engaged.