The South-West Chairman of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo has advised the Federal Government to sell the pipelines network, stressing that retaining an asset without being used, was a big loss.
In his lead argument to defend the advice, he said the activities of vandals have made it near impossible and frustrating the good intentions of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in pumping products using System 2B Pipelines Network.
According to him, NNPC was recording a huge financial loss when pumping fuel through the network due to the activities of vandals.
He explained that the System 2B Pipelines Network is the pumping of petroleum products from Atlas Cove in Lagos Island to Ejigbo to Mosinmi in Ogun to Ibadan to Ore in Ondo State and Ilorin in Kwara.
However, since April, the corporation had stopped pumping petroleum products through the network thereby making use of private depots in Apapa to distribute its products.
This has been the main reason why many Lagos highways are littered with tankers unabated.
Korodo added further that “NNPC said that for so many years it has been pumping fuel through the network, it has not made any profit.
“If NNPC pumps five million litres of petrol in the night, it will be accosted on its way to its depots before getting to their destination.
“They called on all the Area Managers in all their NNPC depots to sign bond that they will account for all litres of fuel pump into their depots but they said no.
“So, in the alternative, NNPC now have made arrangements with private tank farm owners in Apapa.”
He explained that, with the new arrangements, NNPC now brings its vessels to private tank farm owners, drops the products in their care and collect money after selling, adding that now that the NNPC had made these arrangements, it had led to no vandalism of pipelines because there was nothing to vandalise.
“The exact quantities given to tank farms are the exact amount of money returned to NNPC.
“So, government instead of losing as they used to do in the past, they are gaining now.
“Logically, I look at it and discovered that there are man-made blunders in the System 2B Pipelines Network because if the corporation pumps five million litres, it will be accosted on the road.”
