By Daud Olatunji

ABEOKUTA— Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has blamed the incessant vandalisation of petroleum pipelines by oil thieves across the country partly on negligence of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Amosun said this yesterday, when he visited the scene of a vandalised petroleum pipeline along Iperu-Ogere Road in Ikenne Local Government area of the state.

The governor, who said the issue of vandalism was a reflection of the state of the nation,  alledging that there was complicity of influential people in pipeline vandalisation.

He recalled that in 2012 after such incidence happened at Arepo, President Goodluck Jonathan had invited him to his office in Abuja, where he gave him some solutions to pipeline vandalisation.

Amosun, who was visibly angry at the colossal loss of revenue to vandals, said nothing was done about it.

The governor, who decried the award of pipeline protection contract to a group by the Federal Government, suggested that governors of various states which petroleum pipelines pass through should be involved in checkmating vandals.

He said, “Vandalism is a daily occurrence which shows the way we are as a nation. I still maintain that NNPC is part of the problem being the agency assigned to ensure that things like this do not happen.”