By Stephen Ubanna
In spite of the award of a N48 billion Pipeline Surveillance contract to Government Ekpemepulo, popular, Tompolo, a well -known militant Leader in the Niger Delta region, by President Muhammadu Buhari, not many believe that much could be achieved by his company to man the pipeline network across the country. This is because the perpetrators are vried, contentious, loca gangs and communities.
The N48 billion oil pipeleines surveillance contract to Tompolo’s company is coming after seven years of cancellation of a $103 million security contract between the Niger Delta militant, Company, Global West Vessels Specialists Nigeria Limited, GWVSNL, and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, to man the Nigerian water ways, by the Katsina born Nigerian President.
Abraham Ingobere, the Speaker of Byelsa state House of Assembly, had said that ‘’oil theft in the Niger Delta is far from being over as unemployment, poverty and environmental degradation are not being tackled by the government’’. Although, he had commended the government for taken the bold initiative to award the N48 billion pipeline surveillance contract to Tompolo, he would want the government ‘’to extend same to accommodate other stakeholders’’.
He insists that for the oil theft in the region to stop, ‘’the government must continue to interface with the stakeholders in the Niger Delta region and the people whose source of livelihood have been destroyed by oil activities of oil exploration’’.
There are different accounts of the volume of crude oil stolen every month in the country. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, now batptised, Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPCL, with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, by the National Assembly which had been signed into Law, by the Katsina state born Nigerian President, in August 2021, had aid that the country loses about N470,000 b/d , of crude oil , amounting to $700 million monthly as a result of the oil theft,
Prior to the award of the N48 billion –a year, Pipeline Surveillance in the nine states of the Niger Delta, spread across the south-south, south east and the south west state of Ondo, Tompolo, the former Commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, was said to have held a meeting with the Traditional Rulers, Youths and women groups, activities and other stakeholders in the south –south geopolitical region, on Saturday, September 24, 2022, pleading with them ‘’to support the efforts of the government to rid the region of oil thieves’’. Information may have filtered out to him that that the Nigerian President has penciled him down to take over the contract of pipeline surveillance in the region.
Even without being engaged officially, by the Buhari government, for the oil Pipeline surveillance contract, he was said to have declared a clampdown on all oil thieves in the region. He was quoted to have said in the Palace of Oboro Gbarraun, the King of Gbaramatu, Kingdom, in Oporoza, Warri south west Local government Area of Delta state that ‘’business of pipeline surveillance is all inclusive’’.
The Nigerian government may have resolved to give the former Niger Delta militant, Tompolo’s company may the multi-billion naira oil pipeline surveillance contract because he knows very well the terrain of the Niger Delta region and the modus Operandi of the pipeline vandals.
The government may have been further encouraged to award the N48 billion oil pipelines surveillance to Tompolo’s company, because the military had come to the sad conclusion that the institution cannot be able to secure the Niger Delta and Nigeria at large. Considering the huge amount of money spent yearly on an unending amnesty programme in the Niger Delta states, may have informed why the government decided that that the best thing to do is to hire Tompolo, whom security experts had said was not in any way different from hiring mercenaries.
A school of thought believes that the N48 billion pipeline surveillance in the Niger Delta is nothing but promotion of criminality in the Niger Delta. Mele Kolo Kyari,Group Managing Director,GMD, NNPCL, had said that the government made ‘’the right decision to hire private contractors to man its oil pipeline network natiowide’’. He had said that the private contractors to man the right of ways of the nation’s oil pipelines were selected after a rigorous tender process.
Contrary news making the rounds that Tompolo’, won the N48 billion Oil pipelines surveillance contract, the NNPCL, Chief Executive Officer, CEO, had said that the government is not dealing directly with the former Niger Delta militant but has signed a contract with the company in which he has interests.
Edwin Clark, the Leader of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, appears to be on the same page with the NNPCL, Chief Executive, Officer, CEO. He had said that, ‘’there is nothing wrong in awarding the N48 billion a year, pipeline surveillance contract to Tompolo,‘’to check the menace of oil thieves in the region’’. He had said thasimilar pipeline surveillance contract was awarded in the past to unknown individuals to protect the country oil and gas assets that are situated in their backyards but nothing came out of it and wondered why the Tompolo’s N48 billion contract is generating controversy.
According to him ‘’events over the years have shown have shown that the decision is rather a convenient one considering how past and present governments had handled the issues of oil theft and vandalism in the Niger Delta region’’.
Recall that in 2011, during the Administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, the government had awarded a 10-year contract worth about $103 million, equivalent of N21 billion, going by the exchange then to Global West sVessel Specialist Limited, to effectively monitor some section of Nigerian maritime domain which Patrick Akpobolokemi, the then Director General of the maritime regulatory agency was cancelled by the Katsina state born Nigerian President in 2015.
Until, Tompolo and his Team, mobilise on site, Usman Alkali Baba, Inspector General of Police, IGP, had told the Senate adhoc Committee on oil lifting , theft and the impact on Petroleum production and oil revenues that nothing appears to have changed as the IGP Task Force on Petroleum and illegal bunkering , STFPIB, have continued to make seizures of illegal refined petroleum products in the recent time.
The IGP, had said last Wednesday, that the STFPIB, had made a seizure of 1, 301,020 litres of Automotive Gas Oil, 4,900 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popular, petrol, 45 litres of engine oil, 123 vessels comprising tankers,barges, lorries, buses and other vehicles loaded with illegally refined products.The police boss, had aid that the STFPIB, had successfully recovered and busted the operations of an illegal refinery in Jijoro community Rierside , in Delta state , a Creek of about an hour boat ride.
