The Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL)has fashioned out an empowerment scheme targeted at 2000 women from host communities on the Eastern Corridor of the Trans Niger Pipeline.
The empowerment programme according to the company is for women and girls from the 215 host communities along the corridor.
Dr. Akpos Mezeh, General Manager, Community Relations and Stakeholders Engagement of PINL, disclosed this during the monthly stakeholders meeting for its host communities of Rivers, Imo and Abia States in Port Harcourt on Thursday.
He said the programme is focused on small business development, financial literacy, and skills training for women and girls in the host communities.
“The PINL Women Entrepreneurs and Empowerment Initiative has completed data capturing, conducted in Port Harcourt for host communities in Abia, Imo, and Rivers States, and Yenagoa for Bayelsa communities.
“This programme focuses on small business development, financial literacy, and skills training for women and girls,” Mezeh said.
He stated that verification of data is currently ongoing and that beneficiaries will be contacted shortly, adding that “through the PINL Women’s Skills Development and Enterprise Programme, 2,000 women are being targeted for empowerment before the year’s end”.
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Reeling out other actions taken by the company so far, he said scholarship programme for youths is currently being processed for payment, with beneficiaries expected to receive disbursements by October, adding that new entries from underrepresented communities have also been added to the list.
On environmental and social impact support, Mezeh said the PINL is collaborating with relevant government agencies and environmental experts on joint assessments to identify priority areas for remediation and social investment.
Acting on recommendations from the last meeting, the PINL official said it has granted the inclusion of Biseni in Bayelsa State and other deserving communities in its surveillance engagements, adding that recommendations have been submitted to the appropriate authorities for inclusion of more communities that host critical oil and gas assets in the eastern corridor.
On security, he said: “We have strengthened our logistics, communication, and operational synergy to enhance field response and intelligence sharing, to ensure issues are logged, tracked, and resolved promptly.”
