NNPC, DSS meet over protection of critical assets

The Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Mele Kolo Kyari  has sought for the assistance of the Department of State Services, DSS in protection of  the corporation’s critical facilities nationwide, saying that the corporation had faced some challenges of national security significance in the recent time.

This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by the spokesman of the Service, Dr Peter Afunaya.

According to the statement, the GMD made the request when he led the management team of the corporation to pay a courtesy visit on the Director-General of the  Service, Alhaji Yusuf Magaji Bichi, to deepen existing interagency relations between the two organisations.

He identified the challenges  to include the loss of revenue from product stealing, deliberate damage to product pipelines, cross border smuggling of petroleum products and long indebtedness to the Corporation by persons and corporate bodies that had reneged on business agreements relating to product allocation

While lamenting the impact of these on revenue generation of the country, Kyari expressed concern that dwindling revenues affected the Government’s ability to realise its objectives.

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Consequently, he sought the assistance of the service in containing the threats as well as recovering the debts in line with its mandate of protecting the nation against economic sabotage.

The GMD identified the service as a strategic stakeholder in Nigeria’s National Security management and enjoined it to continue to protect NNPC’s critical assets for the good of the nation.

While responding, the DSS boss affirmed that the Service was actually a front line partner of the NNPC in line with the renewed interagency relations which he had always identified as an effective paradigm for modern security management and pledged the support of the service to the corporation.

He emphasized the need for protection of the nation’s economy to enable the government to continue to perform its fundamental objective role of ensuring the security and welfare of citizens as enshrined in the constitution.

Considering the important role of the NNPC in the economy of the nation, the DG charged it to take advantage of the visit to consolidate its collaboration with the Service. The DG introduced his key Management members to the visiting NNPC.