It has become crystal clear now that it was due to the gross incompetence and poor performance of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, the former handler of the Pipelines Surveillance and Security Contract, that prompted the Federal Government to re-award the job to security company owned by a former leader of the Movement of the Emancipation of Niger-Delta (MEND) High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo.
OPC Leader and the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Chief Gani Adams, whose organisation has been handling the job since 2015, has attributed the loss of the contract to alleged frustration by some Yoruba people and politicians.
Adams also confessed that neither the Niger Delta nor the Northern part of the country sabotaged the effort of the organisation to deliver, rather it was due to the frustration of the Yoruba people.
It is no longer news that crude oil production in the Niger Delta has plummeted to an all-time low to the extent t`hat the country could not meet up with two-thirds of OPEC-approved quota of 1.9 million barrels/day in recent times.
The poor production, which has plummeted in less than an average of 1 million barrels per day in the month of August, 2022 has seen Angola and Libya overtake Nigeria by producing higher volumes of crude during the review month.
This development has been attributed to unprecedented oil theft and pipelines vandalism in the Niger Delta region which has prompted the Federal government, in a bid to stem the tide, to re-award the contract to a security company owned Tompolo, a former ex-agitator in the region for the sum of N4b per month.
It would be recalled that the security company owned by Tompolo had handled the pipelines surveillance job prior to the emergence of the present President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and The New Diplomat gathered that he performed excellently well in reducing to the barest minimum oil theft and pipelines vandalism.
The New Diplomat can also confirm that the choice of Tompolo to take over the strategic contract at this crucial time was informed by the Federal government’s conviction of the capability of the Gbaramatu-born high chief especially taking into cognisance of his antecedent in the past.
However, reacting to the re-award of the contract to Tompolo by the Federal Government recently, in an interview with Saturday INDEPENDENT, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams blamed some Yoruba people and politicians for the failure of OPC to secure the network of oil pipelines in the Niger Delta from vandalism and oil theft.
He also blamed the Federal government for withdrawing the contract from OPC, while specifically accusing the Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for a propaganda to denigrate the effort of the organisation.
Adams also accused the Federal government of awarding the contract to OPC for an abysmal amount of less than N2b, adding that the company benefited very little after removing the cost of execution.
“Presently, 30 percent of our oil are being stolen by the cabals. In 2015, we were given a contract by the fed¬eral government which was initiated by the NNPCL. They called me to come and get the contract for the surveillance security of the pipelines, I never lobbied for it.
“NNPC agreed that the organisation that can prevent their oil from being stolen and also secure their facilities is the OPC. They then shared the contract between me and Dr. Frederick Fasheun. We were given less than N2b for the job. Out of the N1.9b that we got; we paid workers N1.6b within three months.
“They gave us the standards of NNPCL which we must use in paying our workers and they monitored our invoices every month. Despite the fact that we did a great job in securing the pipelines, some Yoruba people and politicians frustrated our efforts. The North and Niger Delta did not sabotage our efforts, it is our people”, he said.
The award of the Pipelines Surveillance Contract to Tompolo has received so much accolades from across the Niger Delta and beyond as the Gbaramatu-born chief continues to play host to thousands of people including traditional rulers, youths and other stakeholders who throng his Oproza country home to felicitate with him.
In an interview with newsmen recently, Tompolo had assured the Federal government that his company will do it’s best to eliminate pipeline vandalism, illegal refineries and crude oil theft both at the creeks and at the loading terminals.
He also promised to carry stakeholders along the pipelines along in executing the contract.
