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From Idu Jude, Abuja
The United Niger Delta Congress (UNDC) has urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to extend the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL).
The UNDC’s request came following the reported recommendation of a House of Representatives committee to dismiss a petition against the company.
The group said the recommendation by the House Committee on Host Communities, acting through its technical subcommittee, underscored the need for the Federal Government to sustain the existing pipeline security arrangement in the Niger Delta.
In a statement issued in Abuja over the weekend and signed by its National President, Mallam Julius Obi, the UNDC said the subcommittee had found the allegations against PINL and its Managing Director, Dr Osahon Okunbo, unsubstantiated.
According to the group, the panel recommended the dismissal of the petition, discontinuation of further investigation, commendation of PINL’s operations and extension of its contract by the Federal Government.
The UNDC, which said it initiated the campaign for the decentralisation of pipeline surveillance, urged the government to act on the reported recommendations, arguing that continuity was necessary to sustain crude oil production, protect national assets and preserve employment opportunities in host communities.
The group also cited the petitioners’ failure to appear before the subcommittee on September 14, September 22 and October 5, 2026, despite invitations to substantiate their allegations.
It contrasted this with PINL’s appearance before the panel, where the company reportedly presented a written account of its operations supported by geotagged photographs.
The UNDC said the committee’s findings should reinforce the principle that allegations against companies handling strategic national assets must be established through evidence.
On the performance of PINL, the group claimed that the volume of crude oil reaching the Bonny Terminal through the Trans Niger Pipeline increased from three per cent when the company commenced operations in August 2022 to 98 per cent by September 2026.
It further stated that Oil Mining Lease 11, which had been shut in for 18 months, resumed operations within 90 days of PINL’s engagement.
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The group also attributed to the company the remediation of 2,049 illegal pipeline connections and the destruction of 1,010 illegal refinery clusters.
According to the statement, PINL’s operations cover 215 host communities and involve more than 35,600 surveillance personnel, supported by 28 forward bases, 130 boats, 175 vehicles and 25 drones.
The UNDC argued that the reported figures demonstrated the importance of involving residents of oil-producing communities in protecting petroleum infrastructure.
It also highlighted the company’s reported provision of more than 5,000 scholarships, vocational training for over 4,000 women and girls, and flood relief to communities in Rivers State.
Beyond the contract extension, the group called on the Tinubu administration to create more opportunities for young Nigerians to take up leadership positions in strategic sectors of the economy.
It cited Okunbo’s succession to the leadership of PINL following the death of his father, Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo, as an example of a younger executive taking responsibility for an established business.
The group said the company’s reported performance demonstrated that young Nigerians could manage strategic national assignments when given the necessary preparation and institutional support.
“The Federal Government should keep opening the doors of strategic national service to young Nigerians who have earned trust through delivery,” the statement said.
The UNDC also commended Tinubu, the National Security Adviser and the management of NNPC Limited for their respective roles in supporting security arrangements in the oil and gas sector.
It maintained that extending PINL’s contract would help preserve jobs, sustain production and provide greater certainty for investors in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
The House committee’s reported position and the UNDC’s call for contract extension come amid continuing debate over pipeline surveillance, crude oil production and the participation of host communities in protecting oil and gas infrastructure.
