By Bina Susan – Warri
NATIONAL NEWS – A consortium of women-led civil society organizations in the Niger Delta has urged President Bola Tinubu to sustain the pipeline surveillance contract with ex-freedom fighter, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, insisting that no one else in the region can manage the responsibility better.
The groups warned that removing Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited from the surveillance arrangement or decentralizing the contract could trigger unprecedented crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism across the region.
They alleged that ongoing campaigns against Tompolo and his security outfit were being sponsored by oil thieves and pipeline vandals seeking to undermine the gains recorded in the fight against illegal bunkering.
The position was contained in a press statement signed by Comrade (Mrs.) Tonbra Kasikoro-Kilopiritei, Executive Director of Women Initiative for Values Empowerment and Sustainability International (WIVESINT’L), on behalf of a coalition of women-led CSOs, NGOs, faith-based and community-based organizations.
Other groups in the coalition include the Movement for the Survival of the Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND), Niger Delta Rural Women Development Front, Renaissance Girl Child Women Education Support Initiative (REGWESIN), Courageous Girls Women and Children Initiative, Earth’s Love for Life Fox Initiative (ELFLFI), Indigenous Itsekiri Women for Grassroots Movement and Development, Ibom Women Environmental Transparency and Accountability, Okugbe-fe Women for Change and Development, Nightingales Jewels for Change Initiative, and Ebi-erema Political Youth Movement for Hope and Change amongst others.
The coalition said the Niger Delta has long suffered environmental degradation, economic marginalization and social insecurity despite its vast oil resources, with women among the most affected.
However, the groups noted that Tantita Security Services Limited has demonstrated a unique approach to security by combining pipeline protection with community engagement and development.
According to the statement, the company under the leadership of High Chief Government Ekpemupolo has helped bridge the gap between security operations and community welfare by engaging local youths and indigenes in the protection of critical oil infrastructure.
They said the approach has contributed to curbing crude oil theft, reducing tensions in the creeks and restoring a sense of ownership among host communities.
The women also highlighted the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, including educational support for students, healthcare interventions and skills acquisition programmes for women.
They described the initiative as a workable model for sustaining peace and development in the Niger Delta and urged other corporate organizations, particularly in the extractive sector, to emulate the “Tantita model” of community engagement.
The coalition also called on the Federal Government to continue supporting security arrangements that integrate host communities, stressing that empowering locals while protecting national assets remains key to lasting peace and national security.
