Pipelines Surveillance: ‘Ignore Detractors, Renew Tantita’s Contract In Protecting Nigeria’s Critical Oil Assets’ – Group Urges FG
The Oasis Reporters
August 31, 2023
– From Aloysius Okerieke, Warri
The South-South Professionals And Transparency Initiative (SSPTI) group, has appealed to the federal government not to succumb to the ongoing cheap blackmail against the renewal of the contract of Tantita Security Services.
The group stated that the outfit had done remarkably well in policing the nation’s critical assets across the region and appealed that the Tantita pipeline surveillance contract be renewed.
The appeal was contained in a statement signed by it’s Chairman and publicity secretary, Dr. Ugochukwu Alozie and Engr. Kayode Ayomide respectively and made available to newsmen on Thursday in Warri, Delta state.
The body described those working against the contract renewal as enemies of the nation and region in particular.
Basing its defense for the Tantita contract renewal with statistical evidence on crude oil theft along the Niger Delta waterways in the last ten years, the body averred that the region had recorded a drastic reduction in cases of pipeline vandalism and illegal oil trade that was prevalent in the area before the security contract was awarded to the outfit in 2022.
According to the statement; “South South Professionals And Transparency Initiatives (SSPTI) as the name implies is a group made up of professionals drawn from various fields of human endeavors with diverse ethnic background but resident in various states across the Niger Delta region”.
“Our members are bonded by convictions to promote good governance through probity and accountability of public funds, as well as ensuring a secured environment for the nation’s critical assets towards the realization of an egalitarian society where our common patrimony would be protected for our collective good”.
“We have watched with keen interest the blackmails, falsehood as well as political and personal interest that had taken place in recent times over the renewal of pipelines surveillance contract awarded to Tantita Security Services and we make bold to say, enough is enough of the desperate efforts by some cabal to hijack the security contract for selfish reasons,” the statement read.
The group observed that it had it on good authority that these politicians who are newly appointed into office as ministers and National Assembly lawmakers, mostly from the zone, alongside some self-seeking ex-militants who are taking advantage of their closeness to President Bola Tinubu, want to either hijack the contract or take a good percentage off it as their entitlement.
“It is evident that the cabal within the corridors of power of the present administration are working in conjunction with a section of the military who are not too comfortable with the uncompromising nature of the Tantita operatives along the creeks while carrying out their illicit oil deals.
“From available statistics at our disposal, it is evident that illegal oil deals across the region has reduced drastically in the last one year when the surveillance contract was awarded to Tantita, as against what was experienced in previous years when cases of crude oil theft rose embarrassingly, even with the intimidating presence of the military in our area.
Furthermore the group said “We are therefore using this medium to call on President Bola Tinubu, not to succumb to any kind of pressure or influence from any quarter not to renew the contract of Tantita Security Services in order to sustain the obvious improvement in the nation’s crude oil capacity production per day.
“We also want to appeal that President Tinubu, as the substantive Minister of Petroleum, to understand the need to protect the environment of the people along coastal areas from severe pollution of the waterways, as a result of illegal bunkering activities which had reduced dramatically in recent times due to the effectiveness of Tantita’s operatives in checkmating criminal activities in the region”.
The group went on to describe those opposed to the renewal of the Tantita contract as people working against the interest of the region whose singular motive is to ensure the return of massive illegal bunkering along the coastal areas with both their local and international collaborators.
