Niger Delta stakeholders urge Tinubu to decentralise pipeline protection contract

A coalition of Niger Delta stakeholders has urged President Bola Tinubu to jettison advise from top government officials calling the renewal of the multi-billion naira pipeline surveillance contract.

The contract, which is being handled by Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, owned by High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, is being opposed by some Niger Delta leaders who believe the pipeline protection operation should be decentralized.

The stakeholders, in a petition addressed to the President, insisted that the popular view of the Niger Delta region is decentralization of the pipeline surveillance deal.

The petition, signed by Comrade Maxwell Efe on behalf of the Concerned Niger Delta Patriots for Transparency and Resource Justice, CNDPTRJ, said the contract is tainted by a case of conflict of interest that borders on economic sabotage against the Nigerian state. The petition also alleged that those who are bent on the renewal of the contract are only doing so to protect their personal and self-serving interests.

The stakeholders coalition, comprising community leaders, youth groups, environmental advocates and others from oil-bearing communities across the Niger Delta, argued that Tompolo’s dual role as both pipeline protector and alleged beneficiary of an oil well creates an unacceptable conflict. They noted that the situation has left humongous resources in the hands of one man, and further alleged that the resources are being used to strengthen opposition political parties against the All Progressives Congress, APC.

According to the stakeholders, an ex-militant agitator, General Adowei, who is linked to Tompolo, is the Delta South senatorial candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC.

The stakeholders urged President Tinubu to act without delay by directing the immediate termination or non-renewal of the contract, ordering a comprehensive forensic audit of all expenditures and performance, and convening a broad-based Niger Delta Security Summit to design a truly inclusive, transparent, and sustainable surveillance framework involving multiple ethnic nationalities and local groups.

“The eyes of the region and the entire nation are on you, Mr. President. History will judge whether you stood on the side of entrenched interests or chose the path of bold reform needed to secure our oil assets for the benefit of all Nigerians.

“It is devastating that Mr. President is being advised to support a program that excludes many and only benefits a few. Can Mr. President win the entire Niger Delta region with the votes of only Tompolo and his self-serving allies?

“The God of Justice, equity and fairness, and the ancestors of Niger Delta will demand for justice if Mr. President ignores the collective call of the Niger Delta people for the decentralization of the Pipeline Surveillance contract and continues to concentrate same in the hands of one family thereby making us slaves of Tompolo in the Niger Delta,” the petition added.

The stakeholders expressed readiness for further engagement and reiterated their support for any genuine effort toward lasting peace, equity, and development in the Niger Delta.