By Stella Odueme
Media Advocacy West Africa MAWA Foundation has tasked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on providing information on the abandoned Kaduna-Kano Oil Pipeline project.
The project said to had been awarded to Macready Oil & Gas Service Company Limited has been abandoned.
The National Coordinator of MAWA foundation, Audu Liberty Oseni in a statement made available to The Authority on Thursday in Abuja said; “MAWA-Foundation visit to the Kaduna-Kano Oil Pipeline project site shows that Macready Oil & Gas Service Company Limited has since abandoned at the Rigar Duka community in Kura Local Government Area of Kano state.
“Community residents who spoke to MAWA regarding the project, say work has since stopped on the site while narrating how the abandoned pits are causing flooding and destroying their farms. A situation they appealed to the government to get the contractors back to the site and complete the project.”
Continuing, it stated that “during a visit to the proposed gas industrial layout (Kano Depot), at Tamburawa, adjacent to Challawa Water Works in Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area along Zaria Road, awarded to Macready Oil & Gas Service Company Limited, by NNPCL, we found that it has not commenced.”
He lamented although Nigeria has since 2003 signed up to EITI and in 2007 Enacted the NEITI Act to promote accountability in the extractive industry, the country has yet to make any notable efforts in ensuring disclosure and transparency in its extractive dealings.
“Despite the Federal Government directive, NNPCL has continued its non-compliance with FOI requests with MAWA-Foundation and DEDASRI being the latest victims.
“Our experience in the extractive industry has shown that the Nigerian state through the NNPCL is not making enough efforts to allow for disclosure. Therefore, we call on all the strategic stakeholders through a participatory approach to design interventions on how to get the Nigerian state and NNPCL to allow for disclosure in the management of oil and gas resources.
“This is fundamental because all legislations that mandate the Nigerian state and NNPCL to ensure disclosure and transparency in the extractive industry are yet to achieve the desired result.”
WhatsApp message to NNPCL Media Relations manager, Aliyu Abubakar by The Authority is yet to be responded to at the time of filing this report.
