The Niger Delta Youth Council (NDYC) worldwide has urged the Federal Government to disregard a call for revocation of pipeline protection contracts awarded to private firms.
Jator Abido, the National Coordinator of NDYC, appealed in a statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said the call for the revocation of the contract by the National Coalition of Civil Society Groups (NCCSGs) was borne out of misconception. Abido said the pipeline surveillance contract awarded in 2022 to two indigenous companies by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd was yielding results.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls the contract was awarded to Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd., and Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd. owned by Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, a former Niger Delta militant.
Abido said that there was nothing wrong with engaging non-state actors to secure oil pipelines, in as much as the contract was yielding desired results.
He said that the federal government and the people should be grateful for the achievements recorded so far by the contracting firms.
“The firms should be applauded for complementing national security in protecting the oil facilities.
“Major export facilities, like the Bonny and Forcados Terminals that were shut down for over seven months due to pipeline vandalism and oil theft had resumed operations
“The pipeline surveillance contract to address oil theft is yielding positive results as the country’s oil production capacity has increased,’’ he said.
NAN reports that the NCCSG had condemned the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to ex-militant groups at a media briefing addressed by its Director of Publicity, Taiwo Adeleye.
Adeleye argued that the contract would not only compromise national security and democracy but also inadvertently empower and arm the individuals to instigate more insecurity and instability in the region.
He noted that there was no justification for entrusting the nation’s pipelines to Tompolo who was once associated with violence in the Niger Delta region. Adeleye had, on behalf of the NCCSG, called on the federal government to revoke the contract.