General Manager, Group Public Affairs of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Dr. Livi Ajuonuma yesterday accused the rich elites of being the brains behind incessant vandalisation of petroleum pipelines across the country.
Speaking at a workshop for Energy Editors and Labour Editors, jointly organised by the corporation and Mount Spiral Conferences, Ajuonuma stated that “vandalism is an organised crime” and that only the rich who have the wherewithal to perfect it can indulge in it.
He noted that the way the perpetrators of the unlawful act operate and the nature of equipment they use, show that they are not common people, arguing that a common man cannot afford such equipment and does not also have the technological know-how to perfect such illicit deals.
While noting that the present administration has admitted that the Niger Delta region, over the years, has suffered neglect in terms of infrastuctural facilities, the NNPC spokesman urged the youths to embrace peace, assuring that the Federal Government will not fail in its resolve to improve the quality of lives of the people of that region.
Ajuonuma faulted the manner in which cases of pipeline vandalisation were reported by the media and called on all and sundry to join hands in the fight against vandalisation.
Speaking in the same vein, Mr. John Owubokiri, one of the resource persons, observed that the media has not risen to the challenge posed by the indegenes of the oil -rich region, by making public the equally impossible living condition of Nigerian citizens who live their lives in the Sahelian deserts of the northern most parts of the country.
“Most importantly, the media has to solicit and win the confidence of the people of the Niger Delta, the Nigerian government as well as the general public, that it is a neutral arbiter for the resolution of the crisis that rocks the country because of the living conditions in the Niger Delta and the activities of the operators in the industry which have ignited these acts of protest.
“The media cannot achieve this by turning a blind eye to the damages inflicted on this country both in human statistics and in the dwindling fortunes of the effort to rebrand Nigeria” he said.
Feb162007