Employees of Tantita Security Services at the meeting in Ozoro
By John Egie
The zest for a campaign of calumny spearheaded by some persons using the clout of the Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, to discredit and paint the image of Tantita Security Seevices Nigeria Limited in bad light and hence, made a call on the Federal Government to stop the $144million running pipeline surveillance contract in the Niger Delta awarded to Tantita Security Services, has lost steam as another radical group from a second ethnic nationality in the Niger Delta has once more passed a resounding confidence vote on the competence of Tantita Security Seevices to carry on with the job in the over all interest of Nigeria, the Niger Delta region and the socio-economic interst of indigenes of impacted oil producing communities .
From the stable of Urhobo land where the inglorious call for the termination of the contract had come, last week, Urhobo communities’ leaders, clan heads, indigenous contract coordinators, over 2000 employees of Tantita Security Services and other stakeholders converged in Ughelli where they hailed the competency and social inclusion of youths of Urhoboland in the contract execution through personnel engagement and perforated the claims and reasons of the UPU call for the termination of the contract.
This time a functional radical group from Isoko nation, The Isoko Patroits, took the gauntlet to stop the saboteur and condemned the inglorious and selfish call of the UPU
The Isoko Patriots, comprising President Generals, stakeholders, and coordinators of oil pipeline surveillance in Delta State, met at Opute Hall in Ozoro, Isoko North Local Area where they expressed deep concern over what they described as a coordinated smear campaign by criminal elements masquerading as ethnic agitators, aimed at discrediting Tantita’s achievements in securing oil pipelines across the Niger Delta region.
Reading the official position of the group, Chief Adonis Ubuwere, Chairman of the Isoko PGs Forum and President General of Irri Kingdom, warned that any attempt to truncate Tantita’s operations would amount to a direct threat to national economic stability and regional security.
He stated that since Tantita, chaired by High Chief Government Ekpemupolo with Chief Kestin Pondi as Managing Director, took over pipeline surveillance operations in 2022, illegal bunkering and oil theft in the Isoko region have virtually disappeared, with significant employment created for local youths.
“The Isoko Patriots, a coalition of young professionals committed to peace and prosperity, alert the Nigerian public and security agencies to a calculated campaign, allegedly sponsored by crude oil theft syndicates, to undermine Tantita’s mandate,” the statement declared.
The group revealed that credible intelligence pointed to a broader conspiracy aimed at sabotaging Nigeria’s oil surveillance framework, in order to revive the illegal bunkering economy dismantled by Tantita’s operations.
They criticized the silence of ethnic agitators during past contracts awarded to non-indigenous firms, such as Eraskorp and Ocean Marine, at a time when crude oil theft reduced Nigeria’s daily production to just 700,000 barrels per day.
“These agitators said nothing while our environment was devastated, our communities militarized, and the nation bled economically,” the statement read.
Describing Tantita’s role as a necessary intervention in a time of national crisis, the group emphasized that the contract aligns with the Petroleum Industry Act and reflects a strategic shift toward local content, inclusion, and accountability. They praised the company’s subcontracts to Isoko-owned firms operating within OML 26 and OML 60, and its broad community engagement.
They condemned recent protests against the contract, stating that those behind them are either non-residents or completely detached from the realities on ground.
“Tantita is one of the largest employers of labour in Isoko land. It is disingenuous to call for the cancellation of its contract based on ethnicity. Isoko sons are executing contracts in Ijaw areas—should they now be excluded?” the statement questioned.
The Patroits insisted that the real motivation behind the agitations is “corruption fighting back,” warning the Federal Government and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) not to fall for the deception.
“The gains made since Tantita’s engagement are undeniable. Even oil thieves know this. This is not patriotism; it is a desperate pushback by criminal cartels,” they said.
They further called for the expansion of Tantita’s operational mandate and urged the Federal Government to establish special courts to try oil thieves and their sponsors.
“A winning team deserves applause, not replacement,” they said.
The vote of confidence motion was moved by the President General of Otor-Owhe community, Engr. Atunu Alfred, seconded by Comrade Morisster Idibra, and unanimously adopted by all coordinators, workers, and the entire Isoko nation.
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