The Nigerian government through the NNPC on Tuesday described the award of a multibillion-dollar contract to monitor the Naira pipeline to a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the Ikbembolo government, popularly known as Tombolo, as the “right decision”.
Speaking at the 49th session of the House of States Conference at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday, Mele Kyari, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, said Nigeria was demanding a decision to hire a private contractor for its running of its network of oil pipelines across the country through massive oil theft.
Mr. Kyari argued that this was not the first time that people in the Niger Delta region had received pipeline protection contracts. This was clarified when reports emerged that NNPC Limited had awarded a pipeline inspection contract to Tompolo.
According to a report by The Nation, monitoring contracts are worth 48 billion N per year (4 billion N per month).
Several armed groups in the area are reported to be angry with the federal government for leaving them out of a lucrative contract, threatening to render the surveillance contract unviable.
On Tuesday, Kyari said the federal government was not in direct contact with Tompolo but with the private contractors they had an interest in.
Kyari said: “The security agencies are doing their job, and monitoring the pipeline from start to finish requires the participation of private organizations and public figures.”
“We need private contractors to manage the rights of way for these pipelines. So we created a framework for contractors to come in and bid, and they were selected through a competitive bidding process. And we think we made the right decision. ”
According to Kyari, the decision was aimed at achieving three major objectives. He said, “First, make sure that government security agencies are involved. We have the Navy and the Army, and they do a great job of screening. But when you do, persistence is everything. That’s why we also decided we need private contractors to manage their rights and get them off the beaten path so they can join us and manage community members.
“Because we do not have access to this, we will create a basis for selecting suppliers through a bidding process for those who can.” corporation. “He may have an interest in the company. We don’t deal with Tompolo, but we know he has an interest.” “We know that we are involving all the other people who will help us in this situation. It has happened many times over time and the results have been part of such a process, and I believe we are making the right decisions, “said Kyari.