The Northern Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, has called on the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government not to renew the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to ex-militant leader, Chief Ekpemupolo Government, popularly known as Tompolo.
The group gave the advice in Kaduna in a statement signed by its Secretary General, Mustapha Hassan on Sunday.
In the words of Hassan, Nigeria is on the edge and everything that needs to be done to avert increased tension in the land should be done.
He added that the multi-billion naira contract awarded to Tompolo by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been enmeshed in controversy, failing to tame the crisis it was meant to address.
The statement read in part, “Top military brasses have frowned at how the government of Nigeria resorted to awarding contracts to someone who should ordinarily be behind bars for the economic mayhem caused in the Niger Delta region between 2016 and 2018.
“Beyond the economic sabotage, the Federal Government recorded loss of military personnel as well as equipment. The award of the surveillance contract to Tompolo became a mockery for the valour of the fallen soldiers and reward of their families’ pains.
“Secondly, the recent scramble for the contract by the ex- militant leaders in the Niger Delta region is mainly because of the notion that if Tompolo’s rascality can be rewarded by the Federal Government, they should all be carried along.
“We recall that when the pipelines surveillance contract was handled by Ocean Marine of Late Capt Hosa Okubor, these myriad issues were non-existent chiefly because they were seen as competent hands without blemish.
“In the same vein, it is obvious to Nigerians that there is no significant rise in the oil production quantum since this contract was awarded to Tompolo. The successes being celebrated were the normal production rates of the country before the mayhem of the Niger Delta Avengers”.
The council further called on the first citizen to come up with a more result-driven model of safeguarding the oil and gas pipelines, instead of flirting with the idea of renewing the pipeline surveillance contract.
As a group, we urge Mr. President to desist from granting contracts that may seem to encourage restiveness and criminality,” the council added.
Recall that in a bid to curtail the incessant attacks on oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta region, the Buhari administration awarded a $50 million (N37.5bn monthly) contract to Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, a company owned by Tompolo.
