Akwa Ibom youths warn Tompolo not to venture into their territory to protect pipelines

YOUTHS from the Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State have warned Niger Delta militant leader Government Ekpemupolo popularly known as Tompolo not to venture into their territory in the name of protecting pipelines.

Last month, Tompolo was surprisingly awarded a contract by the federal government to protect oil pipelines in a dramatic reversal of policy that had seen him declared a wanted man. Up until then, Tompolo was declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as he was due to face charges relating to pipeline protection contracts he was awarded by the government of former president Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

Tompolo, the commander of the defunct Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (Mend), subsequently went into hiding to avoid arrest from the government. However, in a bid to avoid an escalation of violence on the Niger Delta, the federal government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) agreed to engage Tompolo to end illegal bunkering, illegal refining and oil theft in the area.

In response to him being awarded the contract, the Ibeno Men-clue Development Association, said they do not need ex-militants to safeguard oil facilities having been host to ExxonMobil and others companies. In a statement jointly signed by the coordinator of the association Itam Nathaniel Ikotinye, its chairman Christopher Enyina Akpan and seven others, the youths faulted the federal government’s decision over the award of the contract.

They maintained that the exclusion of Ibeno as host community to Exxonmobil was a gross violation of Local Content Act, the Petroleum Industry Act and other relevant oil and gas laws in the country. Their statement read:  “We find it difficult to accept any intrusion or external aggression by way of adopting any named group as a sole contractor for the protection of oil and pipelines in the Niger Delta to the exclusion of the Ibeno host community in Akwa Ibom State.

“Ibeno records the highest production of oil and gas in Nigeria and this action is a negation of the provisions of the Local Content Act and other relevant oil and gas laws in Nigeria. We strongly view this action as an incident of marginalisation and a conscious attempt by some groups to destabilise the Ibeno oil and gas host community of Akwa Ibom State which has suffered gas flaring and oil spillages for years now.

“We are demanding the inclusion of Ibeno oil and gas community in the protection of oil and gas facilities passing through our communities. We shall resist any attempt by any militant or former militant groups or whatever name they might be called to parade themselves as members of Ibeno oil and gas community just for the purpose of grabbing the contract of oil and pipeline protection to the detriment of Ibeno people who are suffering environmental degradation.”