Somtochukwu

The House of Representatives, on Thursday, hailed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation for presenting its budget to the National Assembly for the first time.

This was just as the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mele Kyari, told the House that all the refineries had been shut down as vandals, thieves and weakness of the pipelines were frustrating supply of crude to the facilities.

Kyari also told the House that all the pipelines supplying commodities to the depots across the country had been shut due to security reasons.

The NNPC had earlier in June 2020 made history by publishing its audited financial statements for the first time since 43 years of its existence.

Kyari made the revelations when he appeared before the joint House Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream, Downstream and Gas) for budget defence.

Earlier, Chairman of the joint committee, Musa Sarkin-Ada, in his opening remarks, noted that the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill for second reading on Tuesday by the House, without controversy, was a good omen.

He said, “Let me salute all of us for today’s milestone; milestone that we must cherish together with the GMD NNPC.

“Day before yesterday, the House achieved a milestone by the passage of the PIB for second reading without any hindrance.

“We have all been witnesses to what has happened in the last 13 years. PIB was submitted five times to the parliament.

“Most of the time when it came, it was dead on arrival, except when it came from a private member bill from the Senate, which was not assented to by the President, which was as good as not born.

“Going by what had happened initially, most of the problems came from the NNPC. They considered PIB as something that could undermine them and take away what they call privileged rights.”

…11 out 13 pipelines shut over vandalism, theft – NNPC

Kyari, while responding to questions from the lawmakers, especially on pipeline security and maintenance cost, “Today, we have over 5,000 kilometres of pipelines.

“We have 12 fuel depots. I can tell you today that except the Atlas Cove-Mosinmi-Ibadan line and the Port Harcourt-Aba line, none of these pipelines is active. None.

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