PDP raises query over missing 4,501 petroleum trucks

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 petroleum 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.