Group charges Ogun state over pipeline vandalisation

By The Citizen

The incessant pipeline vandalisation in Ogun State, especially the recent one that claimed many lives at Arepo village, has drawn the irk of a group of young Nigerians under the auspices of  Movement for Better Nigeria (MBN) who called on the Senator Ibikunle Amosun led administration to protect government installations in the state.
In a statement issued by its coordinator, Engr. Isaac Omolewa, it stated that it has become necessary for the Ogun State Government to take drastic actions and far reaching decisions against any monarch or local government chairman that allows hoodlums to vandalise petroleum pipelines in their domain forthwith.
'The time has come for Ogun state governor to take responsibility for protecting government installations across the state and stop pointing accusing fingers to others when in actual sense; he is the chief security officer of the state. As a matter of urgency, he should address the incessant bursting of pipelines in the area. It is becoming an embarrassing sour point in the state that demands quick action. The state has become a flash point for continuous petroleum products theft and we condemn it in its entirety,' it said.
The group stated that the Ogun State government should in clear terms condemn the dastardly act and should not hesitate to punish the culprits as a deterrent to others, adding that the state must begin to hold local government bosses, monarchs responsible for future cases of pipeline vandalisation in the area.
'The state government should make it abundantly clear that it would no longer tolerate indiscriminate vandalisation of oil pipelines in the area. Government should dethrone any traditional ruler in Ogun State found to be engaging in or aiding and abetting oil pipelines vandalization or illegal oil bunkering, taking this position has become increasingly necessary following increased activities of pipeline vandals in the state.
The group further stated that such economic sabotage is seriously affecting lives in some parts of the country, stressing that due to the incident, some parts of the country will be cut off from supplies pending when the vandalised pipe is fixed.
“Our scarce resources instead of being channeled to productive means are now used to man and repair pipelines. One cannot quantify human lives lost in the inferno that ensued. It is just human tragedy and it cannot be allowed to continue because if it is causing serious setback to the economic development of the country,” it said.