A leading Niger Delta activist has criticized the renewal of a multi-million dollar pipeline surveillance contract held by Tantita Security, arguing it fails to benefit local communities and should be replaced by a state-managed system.
Comrade Alex Ekerebenah, an environmental activist and community development expert, made his comments on Monday in response to Comrade Preye Tambou, who had warned against opposition to Tantita’s contract renewal. Ekerebenah described Tambou’s stance as serving narrow interests against the broader will of Niger Delta residents.
“Only a few individuals have benefited from the millions of dollars contract that has ended in the pocket of a very few individuals, leaving the vast majority of the Niger Delta people in abject poverty,” Ekerebenah stated. He asserted that no patriotic indigene would support a contract without direct, widespread local benefit.
The contract, originally awarded in 2021 by then-Minister of State for Petroleum Timipreye Sylva, tasked Tantita with securing pipelines in the Niger Delta. Ekerebenah called on President Bola Tinubu to review the award, citing a lack of inclusive consultation during its initiation. “The haste with which Timipreye Sylva awarded the contract without considering the yearnings of other states and locals is no longer sustainable under the inclusive democratic ideals of Mr. President,” he said.
Ekerebenah dismissed suggestions that opposition is ethnically motivated, framing it instead as a governance issue. He advocates for a decentralized model where each oil-producing state empowers its own indigenes to monitor pipelines and installations within their territory. He argued this would foster local ownership, reduce marginalization, and promote lasting peace.
“The current method has not yielded the desired output as those entrusted with the bogus pipeline surveillance contracts failed to carry the locals along, fanning the embers of division and marginalization,” he explained. “True peace will only return when we carry the locals along and allow indigenes to participate in pipeline surveillance contracts within their states.”
The debate highlights ongoing tensions over resource control and security in the Niger Delta. Critics of the centralized contract model argue it has done little to stem oil theft or improve local economies, while proponents likely cite operational efficiency. The federal government’s decision on the contract’s renewal is expected to signal its approach to regional security and economic inclusion in Nigeria’s key oil-producing region.
