Group Solicits INC’s Support for Partnership with Tantita Security Services on Pipeline Surveillance

The Ijaw Patriotic Movement has formally appealed to the Ijaw National Congress, the apex Ijaw socio-cultural body, to support its bid for a partnership with Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited aimed at securing employment opportunities for teeming unemployed Ijaw youths across oil-producing communities.

The National President of IPM, Ganren Mislaw, made the appeal during a courtesy visit to the INC President, Professor Benjamin Okaba, at his residence in Yenagoa. Mislaw argued that such a partnership would address the alarming level of poverty, unemployment, and environmental degradation prevalent in Ijaw-speaking states.

Mislaw reiterated that since the Federal Government awarded the pipeline surveillance contract to Tantita Security Services, headed by High Chief Government Ekpemupolo popularly known as Tompolo, the company has lived up to expectation. He noted that the arrangement has led to a significant increase in the revenue profile accruable to the Federal Government.

The IPM National President specifically appealed that Tantita should employ up to 3,000 youths from the IPM family, noting that the organisation cuts across all oil-producing communities in the country, including Ijaws in the diaspora. He argued that such an intervention would go a long way in reducing crimes like cultism, oil bunkering, and other criminal activities in these communities.

According to Mislaw, if the request is granted, it will also reduce all forms of environmental pollution and degradation in the communities. He stressed that the foreign exchange earnings of the country come from these communities, which should therefore be carried along, adding that the policies of the Federal Government do not favour them, especially in terms of resources control.

In his response, Professor Benjamin Okaba noted that since IPM became an affiliate body of INC, it has contributed to the propagation of the programmes of the highest decision-making body in the Ijaw nation. He added that IPM has also been advocating for the advancement of the Ijaw cause generally in terms of social justice and equity, which he described as a noble idea.

The INC President, however, promised to take the necessary steps regarding their request at the appropriate time, urging them to continue to remain calm and resolute. He used the opportunity to assure that INC is working hard to resolve the crisis that led to the postponement of their election, adding that there would be a smooth transition of power to the incoming leadership of the body.

This appeal comes amid growing national support for Tantita Security Services. The National Assembly recently passed a resolution describing Tantita as a “critical national asset” and endorsing its role in tackling crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, with over 300 lawmakers across both chambers backing the current surveillance framework . Similarly, a coalition of traditional rulers from Ijaw, Urhobo, Isoko, and Ndokwa extractions in Delta State recently called on President Bola Tinubu to renew and expand the mandate of the private security outfit across the entire Niger Delta region.

The renewed calls for partnership with Tantita also align with the stance of the Ijaw Youth Council Central Zone, whose Chairman, Comrade Iniefe Perekosufa, recently told President Tinubu that Tantita has performed creditably and deserves contract renewal, noting that Nigeria’s oil production has recovered from roughly 800,000 barrels per day before Tantita’s engagement to about 1.8 million barrels per day currently.