The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr  Mele Kyari, has asked the Department of State Services to assist the NNPC in its effort to recover outstanding debts as well as curb pipeline vandalism.

Kyari made the plea when he led the management team of the NNPC on a courtesy visit to the Director General of the DSS, Alhaji Yusuf Bichi, in Abuja, on Thursday.

The NNPC boss also sought the assistance of the DSS in checking cross-border smuggling of petroleum products.

The visit was designed to deepen the existing inter-agency relations between the two organisations.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the DSS, Dr Peter Afunanya, made available to newsmen via email.

The NNPC GMD was quoted as saying the  corporation had, in recent times, faced some challenges of national security significance.

The statement read in part, “He (NNPC GMD) identified these challenges to include the loss of revenue from product stealing; deliberate damage to product pipelines; cross-border smuggling of petroleum products and long indebtedness to the corporation by persons and corporate bodies that have reneged on business agreements relating to product allocation.”