A socio-cultural group, the Southern Ijaw Unity Forum, has called on the federal government not to re-award pipeline surveillance contracts to the current beneficiaries whose contracts have expired, but rather decentralize them across all major stakeholders in the Niger Delta struggle.
The group said this is because Nigeria is not making any progress in the fight against oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and the illegal refining of petroleum products.
In a statement issued to newsmen on Monday, the Chairman of the Southern Ijaw Unity Forum, Comrade Timothy Amadiowei, blamed the failure on the federal government’s refusal to heed wise counsel from the beginning. He noted that this has resulted in oil theft under the cover of surveillance activities, a brewing crisis in the Niger Delta, and the loss of innocent lives in illegal detention centres, acts capable of smearing the image of the Nigerian government at the international level.
Amadiowei said the Muhammadu Buhari-led government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) were made to believe the illusion that one man is “king of the Niger Delta” and that awarding the pipeline surveillance contract to him would automatically end the war against oil theft.
He added that this “fairytale” made the federal government neglect the expertise of other renowned freedom fighters in the Niger Delta, awarding the contract to one man to secure pipelines in the territories of other ex-agitators who had paid their dues and worked hard to ensure peace and political stability in the region, but were later sidelined.
Amadiowei reminded the nation that it was not only the current beneficiaries who worked for the APC government, stressing that it was very unfair that after major stakeholders like Alhaji Asari Dokubo and Endurance Amagbein (just to mention a few) worked so hard for the APC government, they were neglected, and what should have been shared evenly among the ex-militants for equity and fairness was given to one man who has refused to carry others along.
According to him, the federal government is “winning the fight against oil theft only in the news,” while in reality, the illegal business is thriving daily, with most filling stations selling adulterated fuel.
He urged President Bola Tinubu, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mr. Bashir Ojulari, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to take bold steps to correct the errors made by the past administration and heed the demands of the Niger Delta people by decentralizing pipeline surveillance contracts and sharing them among all deserving stakeholders.
Amadiowei cautioned the federal government against “shadowboxing when help is available.”
He said: “The only solution to oil theft and illegal refining of petroleum products is decentralization, because nobody is happy with the anomalies on the ground.”
“Every stakeholder is angry with the current arrangement. How can one man from Delta State, whose kingdom comprises only eight communities, be awarded a surveillance contract to secure pipelines in the territories of other stakeholders, as in the case with Bayelsa State?”
“Carry everybody along, and you’ll see the difference. I can tell you boldly that there are renowned ex-agitators who have the answers the government is seeking, but they are just watching the federal government struggle because it has failed to approach them for help.”
“If you think you’ve seen pipeline security, then wait until the likes of Alhaji Asari Dokubo, King Ateke Tom, and Endurance Amagbein, who understand the Niger Delta terrain more than anybody else, come into the picture with what they have to offer.”
“We are joining other Niger Delta stakeholders who believe that the only way to win this fight is decentralization and bringing everyone on board.”
“Let everybody secure their own domains, because if anybody is doing illegal bunkering in my community, I know them and I know how to deal with them. But a stranger does not know them, and so it is difficult to stop them.”
“If you are from Delta State, stay in Delta and secure the pipelines in your area. If you are from Rivers State, stay in Rivers and secure pipelines there. If you are from Bayelsa, stay there and secure pipelines there, likewise the other oil and gas producing states.”
“This is not the time to re-award all the pipeline surveillance jobs in the entire Niger Delta to one man. This is the time to share them among the major stakeholders so they can cover the whole area and put an end to oil theft,” he added.
