The Oodua People’s Congress Reformed (OPCR) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government to kick against any decision to renew the pipeline surveillance contracts with the ex-militant leader, Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo.
It would be recalled that the multi-billion-naira contract with Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, a company owned by Tompolo, was renewed by the Federal Government late last year.
The president of the socio-cultural group, Ambassador Dare Adesope, made the call during a press briefing that took place in Lagos, saying that the call became imperative because the multi-billion-naira contracts awarded to Tompolo, first by the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, had not addressed the puzzle that surrounded pipeline vandalization in the country.
Adesope urged President Tinubu to revisit the matter against the background of calls for community policing, arguing that giving Tompolo a contract renewal was not in line with the renewed hope Nigerians had already painted in their minds, believing that “every tribe should be in charge of their territory.”
“I stand to challenge this; the president must revisit the matter. We were initially soliciting community policing, and giving Tompolo a renewal is not in line with the renewed hope we had already painted in our minds because we believe every tribe should be in charge of their territory.
“We have a large number of foot soldiers to protect our land, including the pipelines within our territory, so we urge the president to revisit the awarded contract,” he said.
Adesope explained how his group members stood by the president during and after elections, saying that the group led by him “won’t look away while a non-Yoruba man swoops security job in Yoruba land where we are powerfully rooted as security agents.”
“Some of us put our lives on the line to make sure President Bola Tinubu wins the presidential election, and we also went against the recent agitators of the Yoruba Nation for trying to disrupt what the president is putting in shape.
“We did our best by telling people to remain calm even when the dollar trashed our legal tender and when the high cost of living showed its ugly face to every citizen, but we won’t look away while a non-Yoruba man swoops security jobs in Yoruba land where we are powerfully rooted as security agents,” he vowed.
It would be recalled that, in a bid to curtail the incessant attacks on oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta region, the Buhari administration awarded a $50 million (N37.5 billion monthly) contract to Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, a company owned by Tompolo.
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