PINL Deepens Community Ties as Stakeholders Renew Pledge To Protect Pipelines

*Stakeholders call for replacement of 60-year-old oil, gas pipelines

The Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL), under the leadership of its Managing Director, Osahon Okunbo, has deepened its community relations drive across the Niger Delta, as stakeholders in Rivers and Bayelsa States renewed their commitment to peaceful relations and the protection of critical pipeline infrastructure at the company’s October 2026 Stakeholders’ Engagement Forum.
The two-day forum, held on October 9 and 10, 2026, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, brought together traditional rulers, youth leaders, environmental advocates, community representatives and other regional leaders. It is part of a sustained engagement programme driven by Okunbo, who has made direct, regular contact with host communities the foundation of PINL’s pipeline surveillance operations in the communities that host the pipelines the company safeguards”, a statement issued by the company said.
While speaking at the event, the General Manager, Community and Stakeholders Relations (PINL), Dr. Akpos Mezeh said PINL had recorded two consecutive months without any pipeline vandalisation within its operational areas in the Niger Delta, which he attributed to good collaboration among stakeholders, which include host communities, security agencies, surveillance personnel, and industry operators.
Mezeh, who also called for sustained cooperation among stakeholders to protect critical national infrastructure, maintain peace, and promote development in the Niger Delta, added that infrastructure could deliver value only when adequately protected.
“Sustainable production and development depend on peaceful communities and trust among industry operators, government and host communities,” he said.
He said host communities and stakeholders along the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) and the Eastern Gas Network (EGN) will play a pivotal role in ensuring that Nigeria meets its oil and gas production targets for 2027 and 2030.
According to Mezeh, NNPCL Ltd’s recently released audited results for 2025, which reported a Profit after Tax of ₦7.2 trillion, up 33 percent from ₦5.4 trillion in 2024.
“More importantly for our discussion today, crude oil and condensate production averaged 1.77 million barrels per day in 2025, the company’s highest production level in five years, and natural gas production averaged 7.2 billion standard cubic feet per day, the highest in three years,” he said.
He further stated that PINL’s surveillance operations had provided employment for more than 35,000 youths, while its scholarship programme had awarded over ₦2 billion to more than 1,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students.
The PINL official also urged stakeholders to disregard what the company described as a campaign of calumny against it by individuals whose motives were unclear.
“Allegations should not be presented as established facts, particularly when they concern public expenditure, contractual arrangements or the reputation of individuals and institutions,” he said.
Meanwhile, stakeholders at the meeting expressed satisfaction with PINL’s operations and urged the federal government to sustain and expand its contract.
Engr. Omojevwhe Akponime, Head, Field Operations, Eastern Corridor, at the NNPC Project Monitoring Office, said NNPC’s daily reviews show the lines in PINL’s area of coverage running green, as he related to a recent NNPC management session.
“There is no question for PINL. They said so because they are doing well. “He said.
In his remarks, Eze Eberi-Ugo IX of Omuma Kingdom, Onyekachi Amaonwu, said national output targets are only achievable if there are grassroots cooperation across host communities.
“For you to achieve these targets, there is no pipeline in Abuja; the pipelines are located right here in our communities,” Amaonwu said, as he urged other traditional rulers and community leaders to support PINL.
Also speaking, the Eze Ekpeye-Logbo, Kelvin Anugwo, hinted that communities across Ekpeye land in Rivers State had returned to farming and fishing activities due to a decrease in crude oil theft along the corridor.
“Before PINL came on board, we were unable to fish in our rivers because spilled crude oil had ruined the environment,” Anugwo stated.
On his part, the spokesperson for the Niger Delta Ethnic Youth Leaders Forum, Legborsi Yamaabana, commended the federal government for renewing PINL’s contract.
He said, “As Niger Delta people, we have adopted PINL as our own,” adding that dissenting voices would not alter the region’s endorsement of the company.
Also, at the forum in Bayelsa, stakeholders called on oil companies and relevant authorities to address the environmental risks posed by ageing pipelines, abandoned wellheads and continued gas flaring, as they warned that these dangers could threaten livelihoods and damage the environment.
King Bubaraye Dakolo Agada IV, King of Ekpetiama Kingdom who made the call said efforts to prevent pipeline vandalism must go hand in hand with measures to address risks associated with oil and gas infrastructure.
The monarch noted that increased oil production could generate more revenue for Nigeria, but warned that oil spills could leave host communities struggling with environmental damage and loss of livelihoods for years.
He urged residents to discourage pipeline vandalism and other activities that could cause spills in their creeks and communities and also stressed that oil companies and relevant authorities must also take responsibility for preventing spills linked to ageing infrastructure.
According to him, PINL should draw the attention of relevant authorities and oil industry operators to the dangers posed by old pipelines, abandoned wellheads and gas flaring, urging them to take preventive action before incidents occur.
He said pipeline protection should not be limited to stopping sabotage but should also cover infrastructure-related risks that could harm the environment and the people living in host communities.
In his remarks, the President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Doubra Okotete, commended the leadership of pipeline surveillance contractors, saying there had been no reports of fatalities since the company took over the contract.
He described the development as a departure from the past, when such operations were, in his words, “plagued by fatalism”.
Okotete said the surveillance operations had helped secure oil and gas infrastructure while ensuring that host communities benefited from the resources flowing through the facilities they protected.
“Our appeal today is for the Federal Government, the NNPCL and the President of our great country to ensure that oil and gas pipelines that have lasted for over 60 years are replaced,” he said.