Sylvester Idowu in Warri
The Coalition of Isoko Patriots made up of professionals and leaders, President Generals and Tantita Coordinators in Isoko nation said oil thieves as well as displaced desperate criminal networks are behind recent ethnic-based protests against the good work of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) in Isoko nation in particular and Nigeria Delta region in general.
They stated this yesterday during a media briefing in Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, noting that Tantita is currently one of the highest employers of labour in Isoko nation.
President General of Irri Kingdom and Chairman of all Presidents General of Isoko nation, Chief Idonis Uwubare, who spoke on behalf of others, described the agitations as a calculated distraction engineered by criminal cartels seeking to destabilise Nigeria’s oil security framework.
Chief Uwubare, who is Secretary of the President Generals Forum in Delta State flanked by Comrade Ovie Umuakpo, Coordinator Ellu Clan, said that the recent campaigns against Tantita were orchestrated by oil theft syndicates who are desperate to reclaim their lost illegal revenue streams.
According to him, “We feel compelled to alert the Nigerian public and security agencies to a calculated campaign, allegedly sponsored by crude oil theft syndicates operating within Isoko and neighbouring ethnic communities to undermine Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited and sabotage the ongoing oil facilities surveillance operations in Delta State.”
He added, “Intelligence reports reveal that recent protests are part of a wider agenda to dismantle the oil surveillance architecture put in place by Tantita, which they say has significantly reduced crude oil theft since its engagement in 2022.
“Prior to Tantita’s contract award, similar surveillance operations had been managed by some other surveillance companies largely without any recorded ethnic tension or protest.”
Uwubare noted that the irony of current ethnic agitators remaining silent during those previous periods, despite massive crude oil losses and widespread environmental damage was a thing to think about.
“The silence of these ethnic agitators during that critical time is telling. While Nigeria’s economy bled profusely from oil theft, while our communities were militarised and turned into conflict zones, and while our ecosystem suffered irreversible damage, these so-called defenders of ethnic interest remained silent, even when the surveillance contracts were managed by non-Deltans.”
He maintained that Tantita’s emergence was a patriotic response to a national emergency, adding, “We commend the company’s alignment with the Petroleum Industry Act(PIA) including its local content strategy. In OML 26 and OML 60, Tantita had already subcontracted surveillance operations to competent firms owned by Isoko indigenes, a gesture of inclusion and empowerment.
“Tantita is currently one of the largest employers of labour in the Isoko area and has contributed significantly to regional stability.
“We therefore find it grossly misleading for individuals who are either non-residents or are unfamiliar with the prevailing realities on the ground in Isoko to make provocative calls for the split or cancellation of Tantita’s contract.
“Pipeline surveillance is just one of many contracts awarded by NNPCL. Should we now start excluding people on account of ethnicity?” the group queried.
Uwubare condemned what he described as faceless groups acting as fronts for criminal networks aiming to revive the illegal oil bunkering economy, and emphasised that the positive impact of Tantita’s operations including reduced oil theft and increased national production are well known even to those previously involved in the criminal enterprise.
He said that current agitations are not borne of patriotic interest but represent a desperate fightback by displaced criminal networks, adding, “indeed, it is a clear case of corruption fighting back.”
In a firm appeal, the group called on the federal government, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and relevant stakeholders to ignore the distractions and instead expand the scope of work for Tantita and double down on exposing and prosecuting economic saboteurs using ethnic fronts to derail security efforts.
Isoko nation Leaders through Engr. Wilfred Atunu, President General of Otor Owhe then moved a motion to pass a vote of confidence on Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited seconded but ComradeMorrister Idibra, Deputy Coordinator of Uzere Clan and was passed with a voice vote and unanimously adopted.