Niger Delta Development advocate and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Ayirimi Emami, has condemned the reported smashing of several pipelines of Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL along the Olero-Dibi-Abiteye Fields/Flow stations in Warri North local government area of Delta State.
The damaged pipelines transport various petroleum products, such as natural gas and crude oil.
The Niger Delta Liberation Movement had last Friday claimed responsibility for bursting the pipelines, measuring 6 inches, 8 inches, and 10 inches in diameter.
In a syndicated press statement, the group stated that it carried out the operation at about 2:00 am, Friday, November 22, describing the damage as the launch of ‘Operation CHEVRON DRAGNET.’
Chief Emami, reacting to the incident in a statement he signed and issued to journalists, described the NDLM’s action as unfortunate and unwarranted.
Chief Emami maintained that there was no justifiable reason to burst the pipelines, saying the Itsekiri people have civil ways of addressing their grievances with Chevron Nigeria Limited and other international oil and gas companies operating in Itsekiri land.
While urging security agencies to arrest those responsible for bursting the pipelines along the Olero—Dibi—Abiteye stations, Emami stressed the need for security agencies to prevent the recurrence of the attack.
According to the Itsekiri leader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration “is doing everything possible to increase the daily crude oil production in the country and every critical stakeholder in the Niger Delta as well as other parts of the country should support the President’s resolve.”
