By Jide Dominic, Yenagoa
Amidst the ongoing protests and agitations within and outside the country calling for the decentralization of the oil pipeline surveillance contract given to Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo) by the Federal Government, the Ijaw Patriotic Movement, IPM has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to, as a matter of utmost importance, discontenance the protests and agitations and listen to the voice of reason by renewing the pipeline surveillance contract for Tompolo.
The appeal, which was made by the National President of IPM, Comrade Mislaw Ganren, in a statement signed and made available to newsmen in Yenagoa noted that Tompolo has used the surveilliance contract for the development of the Niger Delta region, describing him as an hero in Ijaw land as a whole.
Comrade Mislaw Ganren further reiterated that the foundation for the modern and continuous struggle for the emancipation of Ijaw nation from the deprivation began under the umbrella of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) in 1991, Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) the Movement For the Survival of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality (MOSIEN) and other related bodies which bothers on resource control and the liberation of Ijaw nation, stressing that Tompolo played a significant role in all of these which led to the creation of the defunct Oil Minerals Producing Area Commission (OMPADEC) the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC) and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
He emphasized that through the relentless struggle of Tompolo, late President Umaru Yara’dua signed a treaty for the end of all forms of militant armed struggles and agitations in the Niger Delta region which gave birth to the current Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) for the armed militants in the creeks, adding that Tompolo also led the eventual surrendering of arms by the militants and thus, paving the way for the peace that has pervaded the whole region presently.
The IPM President noted that Ijaw is the fourth largest ethnic nationality in the country that produces the mainstay of the nation’s economy but due to crude oil theft, illegal oil bunkering activities and the vandalization of oil pipelines, the ecosystem and economic growth of Ijaw communities had been adversely affected through environmental pollution occasioned by oil spillages, adding that the survival of the rural dwellers in these communities had been very tough.
He noted that since the inception of Tantita Security Services, more than 10,000 Ijaw youths, cutting across all Ijaw speaking states are currently benefitting from the pipeline surveillance contracted to Tompolo by the Federal Government which has drastically reduced the level of poverty in Ijaw land.
In his words: “Crude oil spillages, illegal oil bunkering activities and oil theft had negatively affected the ecosystem and the traditional fishing and farming occupations of the rural dwellers in Ijaw communities are now a thing of the past with the coming on board of Tantita Security Services Limited which has employed more than 10,000 Ijaw youths thereby eradicating militancy in Ijaw land.”
The Delta State born President of IPM also insisted that the continuous collaboration and partnership between Tantita Security Services and multi-national oil companies is yielding positive results as it has shored up the foreign exchange earnings of the country, stressing that Tompolo presently has the wherewithal, competence, capacity and the needed experience to continue to drive the pipeline surveillance contract which started during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014.
He expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for being a listening President who he believes would eventually sign the contract for Tompolo to enable him continue with the good works he has been doing in Ijaw communities in particular and the nation as a whole, adding that the protesters are only blackmailing the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tantita Security Services Limited.
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