Northern youths, under the aegis of Arewa Youth Assembly, have called on the President Muhammadu Buhari to engage the service of competent hands to protect the Ajaokuto-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline from vandals.

This, the youth said, became imperative to promote a steady and guaranteed gas supply from the South to the North at the completion of the AKK gas pipeline project.

While commending their counterparts in the Niger Delta for shunning pipeline vandalism as was experienced in the past, they also said the project would boost the economy.

The spokesperson of the group, Aliyu Mohammed, while addressing journalists at the Arewa House, Kaduna, commended the Federal Government for selecting Ocean Marine Solutions Limited, for the protection of oil pipelines across the Niger Delta region.

Mohammed said, “We are appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari and other stakeholders in the oil industry to engage the services of competent surveillance companies in safeguarding the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kaduna gas pipeline too.

“For instance, pipeline vandalism, illegal crude oil numbering and theft, insecurity and frequent host community hostilities are now becoming history in the region. We now have a more secured and environmentally friendly Niger Delta.