Alhaji Asari Dokubo, Leader of the defunct Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, NDVF, second left, in handshake withat His Royal Majesty, King Michael Ateke Tom,at his Okochiri Palace in the Okrika Kingdom of Okrika Local Government area of Rivers State, after a close door meeting on Saturday October 14.
* Support decentralization of it Pipeline Surveillance Contract
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Foremost Former Militant leaders,ex-Agitators and key stakeholders drawn from the Six States of the Niger Delta have resolved to collaborate with the federal government in the fight illegal oil theft in the region.
Sources privy to the close door meeting told our Correspondent that on Saturday, October 14, that the meeting was held at the Okochiri Palace of His Royal Majesty, King Michael Ateke Tom, in the Okrika Kingdom in Okrika Local Government area of Rivers State. They agreed to sustain move to tackle crude oil theft, which has over the years affected the nation’s production output and revenue.
It was also learnt from that Stakeholders at the meeting convened to discuss ways and strategies needed for overseeing the Pipeline Surveillance Contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). They resolved that to effectively combat oil theft in the oil rich region the there is an urgent need for the Pipelines surveillance contract be decentralized so that prominent leaders will partake.
According to the source, those in attendance also shared the objective of intensifying their efforts to combat oil theft which should concern all well meaning Niger Deltans for interest of the National revenue and the preservation of the environment.
Among the Ex-Niger Delta Agitators present at the meeting convened by HRM Ateke Michael Tom are Alhaji Asari Dokubo, Leader of Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, NDVF, (a diehard supporter of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration),Chief Ajube Bibopiri (Gen. Shoot-at-sight), and Hon. Victor Ben Ebikabowei (Gen Boyloaf).
Asari Dokubo,other Ex-Niger Delta Agitators and Stakeholders arriving the Okochiri Palace of King Michael Ateke Tom,at the Okochiri kingdom of Okrika Local Government Area.
Our Correspondent recalls that before embracing the Federal Government Amnesty, under the late President Umuru Musa Yar’Ardua, each of the attendees at the meeting have a rich profile in various exploits during restive period of agitation in Niger Delta.
For instance,Boyloaf, a top Commander of the defunct Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta,MEND, (a Niger Delta rebel movement ) was suspected to have led gunmen in speedboats that attacked Royal Dutch Shell’s Bonga Oilfield,off the coast of Nigeria on June 19, 2008, shutting down a tenth of the country’s oil output in a rare attack on a deepwater facility.
The strike on Shell’s Bonga field, which lies some 120 km (75 miles) off the coast and has a nameplate production capacity of 220,000 barrels per day, forced the Anglo-Dutch giant to stop output from the $3.6 billion facility.
The rebel Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) mainly blew up oil pipelines and kidnapped expatriate workers in the shallow creeks of southern Nigeria to attract attention of the federal government.
On his part, Asari Dokubo, vary outspoken and leader of Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, NDVF, an armed group ,had a territorial control that traversed some parts of the three kalabari speaking local government areas of Rivers State.
On his part,Tompolo, a media shy personality, operating from the Okorenkoko axis of Gbaramatu kingdom of Ogbe-Ijaw in Delta State was the undisputed leader of MEND.
King Michael Ateke Tom of Okochiri kingdom prior before embracing the Federal Government Amnesty held sway in Okrika,Ogu-Bolo with many loyal Commanders also held reasonable influence in some parts of Port Harcourt City local government areas
While more specific details of the closed door statekholders gathering remain undisclosed, it is apparent that it marked a unified front against the persistent problem of oil theft in the region.
The stakeholders are resolute in their commitment to boost collaborative endeavors aimed at safeguarding the pipelines and the interests of the NNPCL.
This collaborative approach has the potential to be a turning point in the ongoing struggle against oil theft, with far-reaching benefits for the entire region and the Nigerian economy.
However, it would be recalled that before now, there have been discordant views about whether Pipeline Surveillance Contract be shared among Ex-Niger Delta Agitators Leaders or left in the hands of Tantita Security Services Limited solely owned by a former militant leader in the region, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo.
The Nigerian government under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari had, in August 2022, awarded a pipeline surveillance contract reportedly worth N48 billion per year (N4 billion per month) to Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo to check massive oil theft in the region.
However, some Leaders and groups, mainly from the Niger Delta region, recently called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to renew the Tompolo’s contract to the former militant leader, but decentralize it.
For instance,Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, had also criticised the federal government for awarding the pipeline surveillance contract to just “one man”.
Fubara spoke when a federal government delegation on the security of oil and gas assets visited him at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
The delegation was led by the National Security Adviser,Mallam Nuhu Ribadu,a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police.
According Governor Fubara, “Security of pipeline should not be given to one man or one person. How can someone from Kalabari be controlling the pipeline in Ogoni?” Mr Fubara said, without mentioning names.
“There is no way it will work. We must look at all the key people in the various communities,” the governor added