Oil Theft: Group Urges FG To Renew Tantita’s Surveillance Contract Despite Critics

The South-South Professionals & Transparency Initiative (SSPTI) has appealed to the federal government not to succumb to the ongoing blackmail against the renewal of the contract of Tantita Security Services.

The group noted that the outfit has done well in policing the nation’s critical assets across the region and has appealed for the Tantita pipeline surveillance contract to be renewed.

The appeal was contained in a statement signed by its chairman and Publicity Secretary, Dr. Ugochukwu Alozie and Engr. Kayode Ayomide respectively, and made available to newsmen on Thursday in Warri, Delta state.

The group argues that the region has recorded a drastic reduction in cases of pipeline vandalism and illegal oil trade that was prevalent before the security contract was awarded to the outfit in 2022.

The SSPTI group, consisting of professionals from various fields with diverse ethnic backgrounds, residents in various states across the Niger Delta region, is committed to promoting good governance through probity and accountability of public funds and ensuring a secured environment for the nation’s critical assets.

They have observed the blackmailing, falsehood, and political and personal interest that have taken place over the renewal of the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to Tantita Security Services.

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The group believes that politicians, including ministers and National Assembly lawmakers, and self-seeking ex-militants who are taking advantage of their closeness to President Bola Tinubu, want to either hijack the contract or take a good percentage off it as their entitlement.

“It is evident that these cabals within the corridors of power of the present administration are working in conjunction with a section of the military who are not too comfortable with the uncompromising nature of the Tantita operatives along the creeks while carrying out their illicit oil deals.

“We are therefore using this medium to call on President Bola Tinubu, not to succumb to any kind of pressure or influence from any quarter not to renew the contract of Tantita Security Services in order to sustain the obvious improvement in the nation’s crude oil capacity production per day.

They argue that illegal oil deals across the region have drastically reduced in the last year since the surveillance contract was awarded to Tantita, as opposed to previous years when crude oil theft cases rose embarrassingly.

“From the available statistics at our disposal, it is evident that illegal oil deals across the region have reduced drastically in the last one year since the surveillance contract was awarded to Tantita, as opposed to what was experienced in previous years when cases of crude oil theft rose embarrassingly, even with the intimidating presence of the military in our area”.

The group urges President Bola Tinubu to renew the contract with Tantita Security Services to sustain the improvement in the nation’s crude oil capacity production per day and to protect the environment of coastal areas from severe pollution due to illegal bunkering activities.

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“We also want to appeal to President Tinubu, as the substantive Minister of Petroleum, to understand the need to protect the environment of the people along coastal areas from severe pollution of the waterways, as a result of illegal bunkering activities, which have drastically reduced in recent time due to the effectiveness of Tantita operatives in checking criminal activities in the region”.

The group describes those opposed to the renewal of the Tantita contract as enemies of the region whose sole motive is to ensure the return of massive illegal bunkering along the coastal areas with both local and international collaborators.