The immediate past Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo has said that an average of N120 Million a month totalling N3 billion was spent on repairing gas pipelines that were vandalised.
Nebo who lamented the disastrous nature of gas pipeline vandalism and its effect on the power sector stated that the recent industrial action by Oil and Gas workers also worsened the power situation in the country.
While speaking at a send-off organised for him and the immediate Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil, by the ministry, Nebo said “Energy security must be addressed in a holistic manner. Can you imagine that because of the strike, Nigeria was almost crumbled? I have never seen anything like what I experienced and went through in my last few days in office as a minister. It was disastrous!
“With what happened, it means that the gas war has not been won and unless we win it, we cannot go forward. The first phase of the war has to do with the issue of gas pipeline vandalism and it may interest you to know that millions of dollars are spent fixing these gas pipelines on a monthly basis.”
He added that about N120m was being spent monthly by the Federal Government to fix burst gas pipelines, adding that about N3bn had gone into the repair of the pipelines since he came on board.