National Wire About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories
By Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Information reaching National Wire has it that 1500 graduate and undergraduate students from host communities of an oil and gas pipeline surveillance firm, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL), have been awarded scholarships by the firm.
Disbursing the scholarship grants which totalled N2 billion to the students drawn from across host communities in the Trans- Niger Pipeline comprising Bayelsa, Imo, Rivers and Abia States midweek at its April Stakeholders meeting in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, General Manager, Community and Stakeholder Relations of the firm, Dr. Akpos Mezeh, described the initiative as a wholehearted gratitude from the company to them, following their support in protecting pipelines under the purview of the firm in their territories.
National Wire reports that the scholarships were awarded to students from 216 host communities along the Trans Niger Pipeline(TNP), and the Eastern Gas Network (EGN), and that benefitting undergraduate students were allocated N500,000 per person, while post graduate students got N1m each.
A statement from the firm says out of the 1500 beneficiaries of the scholarship grant, 600 were Bayelsans.
“This is our own way of saying thank you to our host communities. The beneficiaries total over 1,500 and we have disbursed over N2 billion—and this is exclusive of women empowerment and skill acquisition programmes.
“I want to appeal to our host communities youths to reject pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft. I urge youths to instead take advantage of opportunities that PINL provides from time to time.
“We’ re thanking youths of our host communities for supporting us to protect the pipelines, and we are using this medium to appeal to youths in our communities to shun pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft. Youths of our host communities should indtead endeavour to provide us with vital information to maintain this momentum,” Dr Mezeh said
Highlighting the operational gains of the firm, Mezeh noted that community cooperation has helped in sustaining the company’s course to supporting the Federal Government’s production target.
He stressed that there was zero infraction across all areas of the company’s operation, saying PINL is approaching the 2 million barrels per day projection of the Federal Government.
“We’ve already achieved 1.8 million, and the target is doable”, he said.
Speaking on behalf of benefitting students in Bayelsa, a postgraduate student in the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUOE), Mr Feboke Thomas averred that the disbursement of the grant signals good tidings in their academic pursuits.
“We want to thank and appreciate PINL for these scholarship awards. Some of us had thought it was not real, but when they called us that the money for it was ready for us to catch, we became so glad.
“PINL is empowering the youths of host communities with skills, job opportunities and now scholarships for our education. This scholarship award will make us pursue our studies with renewed assurances”, he said.
In their separate remarks, traditional rulers and other stakeholders lauded the firm for keeping to its promises, noting that host communities and the firm were partners in progress.
