The Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) has called on security agencies to immediately probe the
voluntary disclosure by the Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum
Cooperation (NNPC), Dr. Mikanti Baru that 4,501 trucks of petrole
um recently
went missing.
The PDP, in
a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Prince Diran
Odeyemi, said that if trucks of petrol could suddenly develop wings and could
not be traced in the ministry that is directly being supervised by President
Muhammadu Buhari, the signs are obvious that the plundering of the nation’s
commonwealth in ministries, departments and parastatals are at unimaginable
rate.
The party
expressed shock over what it called “additional means to finance APC and
President Buhari’s re-election next year in addition to the proposed N1 billion
daily funding of Boko Haram which the administration claimed have been
technically defeated.”Baru disclosed that the trucks laden with petrol could
not be traced when he appeared before Senate Committee probing the scarcity of
the product last week.
Insisting
that such disclosure, apart from giving out Buhari Presidency as largely
incompetent, also exposed Nigeria as a country with no security shield, the PDP
said the missing trucks must have been sold and the proceeds kept in special
coffers being ‘fattened’ for 2019 elections.
Meanwhile,
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said the Escravos-Lagos
Pipeline (ELP), which came down last week due to fire explosion has been
restored.
The group
said yesterday that supply of gas to customers on the line including
power-generating companies, has also resumed.Group General Manger, Group Public
Affairs Division, NNPC, Ndu Ughamadu said the repair work on the
pipeline-followed a directive by the Group Managing Director, Maikanti Baru, to
carry out an assessment of the damage with a view to getting a prompt solution.
A section of
the ELP at Abakila in Ondo State blew up in flames on January 2, 2018 as a
result of bush fire.The incident affected gas supply to customers in Ondo, Ogun
and Lagos states with subsequent shutdown of a number of power plants.
Expectations
are that the restoration of the ELP and resumption of gas supply to the
affected power plants with a combined generating capacity of 1,143MW would
stabilise power generation capacity as the companies resume power generation.
The affected
power plants are those belonging to Egbin Power Plant in Lagos State;
Olorunsogo Power Plant, PEL Olorunsogo and Paras Power Plant in Ogun State; and
Omotosho Power Plant, which is located in Ondo State.
The 36-inch
Escravos to Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS), a natural gas pipeline built in 1989
to supply gas from Escravos in the Niger Delta to various consumption
utilization areas, supplies gas to power plants in the South-west and also
feeds the West African Gas Pipeline System.
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