Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited has released ₦2 billion for a scholarship programme benefiting 600 undergraduate and postgraduate students from host communities in Bayelsa.
The announcement came on Thursday during a stakeholders’ meeting organised by PINL in the state, amid continued calls from some stakeholders for the decentralisation of pipeline surveillance contracts—an argument seemingly countered by the presence of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited at the event.
PINL, the private security firm overseeing the Eastern Corridor of the Trans Niger Pipeline and the Eastern Gas Network, reaffirmed its commitment to community engagement.
Speaking at the meeting, Akponime Omojevwe of NNPCL’s Project Monitoring Office praised the growing relationship between the company and host communities, urging all parties to sustain the progress achieved.
“I’m usually delighted because the bond in Bayelsa between the communities and PINL is a very strong one. The collaboration is a hundred percent and we don’t want that rating to drop because they have tried so much.
“Anytime I come here, I’m always happy because I see the collaboration, I see the unity. You can imagine the words of the royal fathers just now — that they are in support of PINL,” Omojevwe said.
He also applauded stakeholders for their role in safeguarding the Trans Niger Pipeline and called for an end to pipeline vandalism and illegal bunkering.
At the same event, Akpos Mezeh, General Manager of Community and Stakeholder Relations at PINL, formally presented the scholarships to beneficiaries and announced the rollout of additional programmes focused on women’s empowerment and youth skill development.
Mezeh said the initiative underscores the company’s commitment to education and human capital development in its host communities.
“In Bayelsa, we have granted scholarships to 600 students of higher institutions in our host communities, giving them between N500,000 and N1,000,000 each to aid their studies,” he said.
“The granting of scholarships to students of our host communities is a sign that we are committed to their education and human capital development,” he added.
Recipients of the scholarships expressed appreciation, noting that the financial support would ease the burden of funding their education and allow them to focus more on their studies.
Canus Samuel, a civil engineering student at Niger Delta University, said: “I can now concentrate well on my studies and make the company and my community proud. I will do my very best to come out with a good CGPA and become a good engineer.”
Another beneficiary, Albert, a postgraduate student at NDU, highlighted the broader impact of the initiative.
“I’m so happy for this privilege because it will enhance our performance in school, most of us don’t have better sources of raising funds. It is a real leverage for us,” he said, before adding: “We are making a commitment to continue to protect our pipeline so that there will be no vandalism and their operations will go smoothly.”