NIGERIA’S president Olusegun Obasanjo has set up a committee to recommend measures to effectively deal with pipeline vandalism as part of the administration’s efforts to check the loss of lives and property, and to halt theft from oil pipelines all over the country, and ensure availability of products. The committee was set up after a government meeting on pipeline vandalism on 2 February, which established its terms of reference to include: assessing the condition of pipelines in relation to frequency of vandalism; ascertaining the causes of vandalism; establishing the areas most prone to vandalism; identifying those involved; and recommending measures effectively to deal with issues and dangers of vandalism, including technological innovations.
The high-level committee, which is understood to have one month to submit its report, is under the chairmanship of Prof. Akin Mabogunje of the Lagos city regional board, and its members include the minister of environment and housing, the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the Department of Petroleum Resources, Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, and the special adviser to the president on energy.