FG PIPELINE SECURITY CONTRACT: My Compatriot Bro, Chief Tompolo and his Tantita Security Company deserve Commendations and extended Contract Services from the Federal Government of Nigeria.

FG PIPELINE SECURITY CONTRACT: My Compatriot Bro, Chief Tompolo and his Tantita Security Company deserve Commendations and extended Contract Services from the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Na me, Compatriot Comrade (Engr) Igbini Odafe Emmanuel, talk am!

For some weeks now, I have deliberately maintained silence and comment not, but I have been carefully reading Posts on Social Media from some of my younger brothers and also from a dear Compatriot, Barr. Dele Farotimi; all of them accusing Tompolo and his Tantita Security Company of wrongdoing and Injustice against some other Oil and Gas producing Ethnic Nationalities of Delta State in the sharing of the multi-billion naira contact for securing Petroleum Pipelines and Producing Facilities across our Oil and Gas producing Communities. They are demanding termination of the Surveillance Contract awarded to Tompolo’s Tantita Security Company.

I chose to be silent not because I am not eminently qualified to speak on the matter and to properly and rightly educate and correct the wrong accusations levied against Tompolo and his team at Tantita Security Company. I am one of the most qualified to speak on this and related matter of the decades of Injustices perpetrated against our Oil and Gas Producing Communities of the South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. Yes, you read me correctly!

I am a Petroleum Engineeer who has worked in the Oil and Gas Producing fields on Onshore, Swamp and Offshore of the South-South of Nigeria. I am an Urhoba man from the rich-Oil and Gas Producing Area of Delta State.

It is an undisputed fact and on record that for the past 30 years or more, I have been a very strong voice and advocate for the demand of Justice for our people. For past over 25 years, I kept advising FG on the best and most effective way to secure our Pipelines and Facilities from Oil Thieves, most of whom are from overseas and top management staff of the Oil Companies in Nigeria. One of the ideas I sold then to the FG is to make our people direct stakeholders and beneficiaries of the Oil and Gas Proceed by the engaging them in the Protection of the Pipelines and Facilities in their Communities in return for percentage of the Petroleum proceeds thereafter.  

It is part of this struggle and activism that my employment was unjustly and unlawfully terminated with my Employer, former Elf Petroleum Nig. Ltd now TotalEnergies EP Nig. Ltd (IOC) on late night of Augsust 9, 2000 at our Portharcourt Office. Till date, I have not gotten Justice. A serving Minister of this current PBAT’s Cabinet was my first lawyer in this matter. I won’t mention the name.

I was actively in this struggle as a Labour Leader at Elf Petroleum Nig. Ltd, Portharcourt when our elder, Dr Ken Saro Wiwa, was arrested, detained, convicted and sadly hung like a common criminal at Portharcourt Maximum Prison in November 1995. 

Between years 2001 and 2005 when I was a PostGraduate Students Leader of the University of Portharcourt, Portharcourt, I spent huge sums of my personal income to organise and finance Several Public Lectures and Seminars that had top Delegation of the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Representatives of then Govs James Ibori and Peter Odili, top Management of IOCs, Professors, DPR now NUPRC, CSOs, Human Rights Activists, Journalists and many more, all in attendance, to address these decades of Injustices against our people and to proffer solution to Peace, Justice and Security.

Within same period when the sad pipeline fire incident that consumed many precious lives of my people of Jesse Kingdom in Delta State, I was in the struggle. I visited the horrible Site and wrote Articles in some Daily Newspapers on it. I was on Radio and TV Stations for this struggle for Justice for our people. I know the Industry, inside out! I know how to fix this problem for the overall good of all true stakeholders in the business (within and outside Nigeria). Our Petroleum should be a huge BLESSING to us all as is the case to Saudi Arabia, US, UAE, UK, France, Norway, Russia and others.

I was here in our Oil Cities of Uwvie, Warri and Environs, when the FG declared Tompolo and some of our Ijaw Brothers wanted, because of this struggle for Justice. I was here when the subsequent Amnesty by President Umar Musa Yar Adua, was granted them. May GOD ALMIGHTY continues to bless his soul. Amen

I was here when few years ago, during the first tenure of late President Buhari, some close political aides of the President prompted him to again declare Tompolo wanted which led to his going into hiding for some years. Thank GOD that that declaration was later rescinded and Tompolo had air of freedom. The result of this is the continued report of improvement of security of our Oil and Gas Pipelines and Production Facilities and more Crude Oil Production and much more foreign earnings for our Country, Nigeria, that all States and Local Governments now happily share on monthly basis.

With evidence of this mentioned above, why would anyone not appreciate and commend Compatriot Tompolo and his Tantita Security Company for the good job done so far and the need to extend the years of this contract by the FG?

Let me state for the record that I have never gone to Tompolo or to the Office of his Tantita Security Company that is just few minutes drive from my House. I have never asked for or benefitted a kobo from them but I see the good jobs they do here in the Cities of Oil Uvwie, Warri, Ughelli and beyond. They empower our people and contribute to their daily and economic survival. I see them support Organisations and NGOs to help lift lives from abject poverty. 

Tantita Security Company collaborates with our Armed Forces based here. Recently, it massively embarked on the construction of modern blocks of flats for Officers and men of Nigerian Army and also carried out massive renovations of some Nigeria Police Divisional HQs

They get involved in provision of some public infrastructures to revive our abandoned oil cities after the unjustified relocations of offices of Shell, Elf, Agip and other Oil Companies, to Lagos and Abuja yet these IOCs continue their E & P Operations here. Is this Fair and Just on our people?

I will for now stop at this point hoping I have convinced those opposed to Tompolo and his Tantita Security Company to have a rethink and drop their Condemnations. 

What is needed now is for us to support Tantita Security Company with Ideas that would improve security of our Oil and Gas Pipelines and Producing Facilities because from my deep knowledge of the Industry, there is still much room for improvement from Tantita Security Company.

One Love!

Comrade (Engr) Igbini Odafe Emmanuel