The House of Representatives has passed a vote of confidence in President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL) and the company’s Managing Director, Osahon Okunbor, over their contributions to pipeline security and efforts to boost crude oil production.
The resolution followed the dismissal of a petition against PINL after a technical subcommittee of the House Committee on Host Communities reportedly found the allegations unsubstantiated by the evidence presented during its investigation.
More than 55 members of the committee adopted the resolution at a special sitting on Tuesday, endorsing the company’s pipeline surveillance operations and community development initiatives in the Niger Delta.
The petition, dated September 5, 2026, raised concerns about PINL’s pipeline surveillance contract. However, the technical subcommittee recommended that it be dismissed in its entirety after reviewing the issues presented.
In its report, the subcommittee highlighted the company’s reported contributions to pipeline protection, crude oil production, youth employment, education and economic empowerment in its host communities.
The committee chairman, in his opening remarks, said the House was committed to accountability, fairness and due process, stressing that allegations brought before the legislature must be subjected to thorough investigation.
He recalled that the petition had been referred to the technical subcommittee to ensure an impartial assessment of the issues raised.
The chairman commended members of the subcommittee for their work, noting that legislative oversight must protect the public interest while ensuring that decisions are based on verifiable evidence.
On employment, the report credited PINL with engaging more than 35,600 youths as pipeline surveillance guards across its operational areas, describing the initiative as a source of livelihood for thousands of people in host communities.
The subcommittee said the employment programme had also encouraged local participation in protecting critical oil and gas infrastructure, which remains important to Nigeria’s petroleum revenues.
On education, the report stated that more than 5,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students from host communities had benefited from the company’s scholarship interventions.
It also highlighted a ₦2 billion scholarship programme supporting 1,500 students across Bayelsa, Rivers, Abia and Imo states.
In Bayelsa State, 600 students reportedly received scholarships ranging from ₦500,000 to ₦1 million each.
The lawmakers further acknowledged PINL’s skills acquisition and economic empowerment programmes for women and girls, with more than 4,000 reportedly trained in vocational trades and small-business development.
Under its Women’s Skills Development and Enterprise Programme, the company targeted 2,000 women and girls across 215 host communities. The report also stated that 1,000 women in Bayelsa received ₦250,000 each under the initiative.
The report cited additional humanitarian interventions, including the distribution of relief materials to more than 10 communities in Rivers State affected by the 2022 and 2023 floods.
Food assistance and palliatives were also reportedly provided to host communities and pipeline surveillance personnel across the company’s operational areas.
The subcommittee recommended that PINL be commended for its role in stabilising crude oil production along Nigeria’s Eastern Corridor.
It also recommended that the company’s pipeline surveillance operations be sustained as part of efforts to protect oil infrastructure and support the Federal Government’s target of increasing crude oil production to between 2.5 million and three million barrels per day.
The panel further urged the Federal Government to encourage and expand the scope of PINL’s activities over a longer period, arguing that sustained operations could consolidate gains in pipeline security, employment and community engagement.
The House committee’s resolution places its support for the company and the broader pipeline security effort on record following its consideration of the petition.
However, the dismissal of the petition reflects the committee’s assessment of the evidence presented during its proceedings and does not, on its own, establish that every aspect of the company’s operations is free from criticism.
