LET'S TREAT PIPELINES VANDALS LIKE BOKO HARAM
LET'S TREAT PIPELINES VANDALS LIKE BOKO HARAM
By:
Nurudeen Dauda
April 14, 2016
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Please read all you will understand why Nigerians are suffering! We encouraged and legalized “crimes” and criminality by issuing “Pipelines Protection Contracts” to Ex-militants/Vandals in the name of employing the “thief” as the “Night-Watchman”. The Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps(NSCDC) is primarily established to deal with all forms of vandalism instead of the previous government to empower them to do their jobs they employ militants to take over their jobs and yet they were being paid monthly. The previous government also gave “Maritimes Security Protection Contracts” worth billions of Naira to ex-militants in order to guard our waterways despite having the “Nigerian Navy” which were being paid monthly for same responsibility. No wonder “oil theft” was all time high during that period!
Why did the previous government empower the vandals instead of the NSCDC, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Police, and DSS to do there jobs? Was that not assisting institutional collapse? Is that how other countries manage their vandals? Was that not against the law? Was that not pampering with criminals? Was that not a vote of confidence to our Arm forces?
Soon after the present government comes in the “Pipelines Security Contract” awarded to former militant leader Tompolo was revoked. “Some militant groups weeked attacked pipelines in the Niger Delta region following the arrest warrant for former militant leader Government Ekpemupolo… before the incident, the two refineries were refining about 4 million litres of products which included Dual Purpose Kerosene and Premium Motor Spirit(PMS)” (Daily Trust: January20,2016: p.21).
“Two of the nation’s refineries were shut down by the Nigerian National petroleum Corporation(NNPC) due to pipeline vandalism by the Niger Delta militants…the refineries ,with a combined capacity of 235,000 barrels per day, resumed production in December and January respectively after long maintenance work” (Daily Trust: January20,2016: p.21). For years our refineries were not working but Dr Ibe Kachikwu gave three months for maintenance work and they came back on stream but unfortunately the economic saboteurs in less than a month blew them up.
“… Federal Ministry of power has said that the long hours of nationwide power outage in recent weeks was caused by a drop in power generation to about 3,659 Mega Watts (MW). Nine power generating stations across the country have been completely or partly shut down due to gas shortages, forcing the national grid to shut-in 2,044MW of electricity” (Daily Trust: March 9,2016:p.44)
“Head, Corporate Communications of Eko Electricity Distribution plc (EKEDP) Idemudia Godwin also said that the unstable power supply was partly due to the inadequate bulk electricity load allocation to the company from the national grid. This, according to him, arose from a drop in the national generation level as a result of incessant acts of vandalism on gas pipelines and transmission towers .The situation led to acute power rationing in all parts of the country…” (Daily Trust: March 9, 2016: p. 44).
The improvement recorded in Electricity supply throughout immediately after President Buhari assumes power was not because he did something on the power infrastructure, but because gas supply diversion immediately stopped due to his presence. In Nigeria we have two major sources of electricity supply: (1) Hydro- power plant (Kanji Dam, Jebba, and Shiroro stations) and (2) Thermal stations (Gas Plants) which use Gas supply. About 65% of the sources of power In Nigeria is from the Gas plants while the remaining 35% supply is from Hydro plants. These sources are the ones supplying to the “national grid”. The transmission company of Nigeria limited, which is owned by the federal Government of Nigeria, delivers the bulk electricity to the 11 privatized distribution companies (DISCOs), who deliver it to their customers. The DISCOs are:
(1) Eko DISCO- Lagos state;(2) Ikeja DISCO- Lagos state;(3)Benin DISCO-covering: Edo, Ekiti, Ondo Δ(4) Ibadan DISCO- Covering: Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Kwara, Niger(Mokwa, New Bussa, Ibi, Jebba North)& Ekiti (Effon-Alaye,Iwaji-Ekiti,Ijowa-Ekiti,Irele-Ekiti,Orile-Imesi);(5)Yola DISCO- covering: Adamawa,Borno, Taraba& Yobe states;(6) Portharcourt DISCO- Covering: Cross River, Rivers, Akwa Ibom,& Bayelsa states;(7) Kano DISCO-covering: Kano, Kastina& Jigawa states;(8) Kaduna DISCO-covering: Kaduna, Kebbi, Zamfara& Sokoto states;(9) Jos DISCO-covering: Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe & Benue states;(10) Abuja DISCO- covering: FCT, Kogi, Nassarawa & Niger states; and(11) Enugu DISCO- Enugu,Anambra,Imo,Abia& Ebonyi states.
Following the vandalism of the following Gas plants they recorded very low supply. Daily Trust reported thus: “…Olorunshogo National integrated Power Plant(NIPP)shut-in 600MW;Sapele NIPP shut-in 112.5MW;Omotosho(Gas)shut-in 190MW;Geregu,NIPP shut–in 145MW;Delta shut-in340MW; Omotosho NIPP shut-in120MW;Egbin shut-in 44MW and Olurushogo (Gas) shut-in38MW all due to shortage of gas supply. Odukpani on the other hand shut-in59.1MW due to water constraints…”- (Daily Trust: March 9, 2016: p. 44).
“Buhari warned vandals and saboteurs blowing up oil and gas installations to desist immediately or face the same drastic action being taken against Boko Haram by the armed forces… I am aware that in the past two weeks, the national grid collapsed a number of times. I hope this message will reach the vandals and saboteurs who are blowing up pipelines and installation. We will deal with them the way we dealt with Boko Haram”- President Buhari-(Daily Trust: April 14, 2016: p. 3).
I call on you the vandals in the interests of the suffering Nigerian masses due to your nefarious and ungodly act of vandalism to repent and embrace peace. When pipelines are blown up you are not painting President Buhari’s government black but you are inflicting pains on Nigerians including your own brothers and sisters down there.
On fuel Scarcity, “The three local refineries in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri are virtually refining nothing. With the combined refineries capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, the three refineries if fully working can atleast provide about 40 per cent of the country’s daily fuel need” -(Daily Trust: December 7, 2015: p. 23).
The refineries in Nigeria with installed capacity of 445,000 daily productions. The youngest refineries in Nigeria (Kaduna & Warri) were built in 1977/1978 under the supervision of President Buhari then minister of petroleum. This means that the newest refinery in Nigeria was built 38years back.
What was the population of Nigeria as well as the daily fuel consumption at that time compare to now? By the time president Buhari left government in 1985 the population of Nigeria was 83.9 million. All the four refineries were working. We were exporting 100,000 barrels of our locally refined crude. However, by the time Buhari returns after 30 years our population is about 180million now, and none of the refineries he left is now working; we are importing 100% of what we use (41million liters daily).
President Buhari was asked during his last year’s presidential chat about the malfunctioning of our refineries and he replied: “… how I wished you can be as critical to the government since the last 16 years. When I was in government we have the four (4) refineries working, with the capacities of 445,000 barrels a daily. The 400,000 barrels of Nigerian crude. We don’t import anything! Is all Nigerian crude! And we were exporting 100,000 barrels a day of refined product after satisfying home market. Now as we are talking with you, none of these four (4) refineries is efficiently working! None! Again we built more than twenty (20) depots, we laid more than 3,500 pipelines, and we have more than six (6) pumping stations. We pumped from Zaria to Gusau, from Zaria to Maiduguri to Kano. All that infrastructure has been destroyed! Why can’t they even maintain what they inherited…?”(President Buhari’s media chat).
He was also asked in the chat and he said: “… our first priority now we can’t do it overnight is to get our refineries working, what is dedicated 4450,000 barrels per day can be refined at home and that would be at least 60% of our requirement; then for the 40% we can do the swap… they failed to maintain four (4) refineries, they failed to maintain about 3,500 pipelines, they failed to maintain the pumping stations. With the cost of petroleum barrel over a hundred $100 they failed to do that. Now it is costing about $37…” (President Buhari’s media chat).
Our situation is critical we export crude oil and earn “Dollars” and unfortunately we used the same “Dollars” to import refined petroleum product. According to some sources 50% of our “Dollars” earned in crude oil sales now due to falls in the price of crude from $115 to $31 is being used to import refine petroleum.
Some of the causes of the resurfacing of queues in our fuel stations is none availability of Forex to the fuel importers. We spent over N6trilion in fuel subsidy in the last 5 years due to malfunctioning of our refineries. About 60% corruption in this country is in the oil and gas industry. We need to be patience and prayerful. May the Almighty God help our leaders to address the problem.
May God save us!