Another round of crisis has erupted between groups in the Niger Delta again especially Ijaw and Itsekiri ethnic groups following fresh award of job to a company, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL), to repair pipelines.
Groups behind PINL have insisted that the company was well qualified to win and execute the going by their track records in protecting the Trans-Niger Pipeline to Bonny terminus across 215 communities with near-zero attacks.
They reacted to a call and threat by Ijaw group calling on the FG and the NNPCL to revoke the job.
The Ijaw group known as the Ijaw People’s Development Initiative (IPDI) made the call against PINL on ground that the Itsekiri people called for termination of Tantita job in Itsekiri land.
The new job awarded to PINL is pipeline repair contract of Sectional Replacement of 14.4km weak sections of Trans-Forcados Pipeline Operations which was awarded to the PINL, believed to be owned by Olu of Itsekiri. The Ijaw group said they should not be allowed to work in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State.
According to the group, Olu of Itsekiri and his kinsmen who they said were calling to ostracize Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited operations in Itsekiri communities didn’t deserve to carry out pipeline repair contracts in the Ijaw communities such as Odidi, Batan, Ekeremor, Kantu, and others.
This was contained in a statement signed by the group’s national president Ozobo Austin.
Reacting, the Niger Delta Progressive Alliance (NDPA) countered the Ijaw call, urging the Federal Government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to ignore the call by the IPDI to terminate the contract.
Read also: Trans-Niger pipeline protection successes: NNPCL, FG, urged to expand PINL surveillance mandate to all of Nigeria
The group urged the FG to stand firm against any pressure motivated by ethnic bias to revoke contracts awarded on the basis of due process, technical capacity, and fitting strategy.
A press statement signed by Nse Victor Udoh, President General, and Felix Ejenavi (General Beni), Delta State Coordinator of the Niger Delta Progressive Alliance (NDPA), described as inflammatory the statement credited to the Ijaw People’s Development Initiative (IPDI), in which they called for the abrupt revocation of a pipeline repair contract. They said the contract was duly awarded to PINL.
The NPDA argued that PINL is a professionally accredited infrastructure firm associated with His Majesty, the revered Olu of Warri, for essential repair works on the Trans-Forcados Pipeline in Warri South-West Local Government Area, Delta State, and has all the required capacity and competence to execute the contract.
The group noted that “PINL is a registered and qualified infrastructure company with verifiable record of delivering high-risk oil and gas projects across multiple states in the Niger Delta”.
It added thus: “It is a company with deep roots spanning some of the most challenging terrains in the oil-producing corridors of this country.
“PINL was not selected for this contract because of name or title or as an echo of tribal favour, but because of its quiet pedigree defined by access to technical equipment, proven capacity, operational experience, and adherence to global standards”.
The group added that the company’s contributions extend beyond repairs, to securing the Eastern Corridor, which has led to a sharp reduction in pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft, contributing significantly to increased national oil production and revenue.
Many have hailed PINL for successes on the pipeline that delivers supplies to Bonny. They have achieved that with many strategies, best of which is collaboration with pipeline host communities plus prompt payment of pipeline guards.
“These gains on the pipeline have also improved livelihoods, stabilized the oil market, and reduced environmental degradation caused by illegal tapping”, they said.
In addition, PINL is said to have meaningfully engaged local communities through the employment of over 30,000 Niger Deltans under its surveillance contract. It is said to have also invested in education and empowerment through skills acquisition programmes and scholarship initiatives for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
The NPDA noted that those opposing the pipeline repair seemed to quickly forget the grave environmental risk their protest represented explaining that crude oil spill, should it occur, does not respect tribe or boundary. “It poisons the soil, erodes farmland, destroys the water and aquatic life, and jeopardizes the health and future of entire generations.
“To stand in the way of a swift and competent repair effort is to knowingly extend an invitation to disaster into one’s community. It is a monumental disservice not only to the people but to their children and the ecosystems on which they depend”.
According to the NPDA, the Niger Delta is a synchrony of proud tribes consisting of Ijaw, Itsekiri, Urhobo, Isoko, Ogoni, and others. It warned that to invoke ancient divisions as a pretext for contemporary disruption is to re-open wounds that development has barely begun to suture. “We therefore call on IPDI and other regional groups to reject the politics of agitation and embrace collaboration that champions common interests and collective advancement. Dialogue, transparency, and cooperation remain our best paths forward. Let us stop building fences where we should be laying foundations”.
Udoh, President General, of NPDA said governance must be guided by principle, not provocation. “As such, contracts should not be revoked in response to reactionary pressure. To do so would set a calamitous precedent, eroding trust, emboldening parochial interests, and set a hazardous precedent that risks plunging the Niger Delta back into unrest.”
Furthermore, he said, security agencies must remain vigilant in guarding against attempts to disrupt critical infrastructure under any guise and to ensure that peace is preserved across all operational zones.
The group stated thus: “We find it deeply regrettable that certain groups are threatening to inflame young people toward the obstruction of critical infrastructure. Such incitement is not activism; it is an invitation to anarchy” he stated
He stressed that the Niger Delta deserved better than a future written in the language of sabotage. “We categorically condemn any of such that may arise in the name of tribal defence. For such actions, if allowed to persist, will not only endanger the region’s economy but could invite security interventions with far-reaching consequences”.
He went on: “As such, to attempt to demonize and reframe this technical decision as a tribal affront is intellectually dishonest, short-sighted and counterproductive. If one must oppose such an enterprise, let it be on evidence of failure, not on the grounds of discomfort.
“It is thus imperative that we rise above this reflex and collectively reject the idea that development in this region must always be filtered through the lens of identity politics. Let merit and excellence breathe again. Our people deserve nothing less”, Udoh stated.
Neutral observers however noted that since the objection ascribed to Itsekiri people did not lead to cancellation of Tantita’s contract, the one now being raised by Ijaws should also not lead to termination of PINL’s contract. A source said ethnic champions should learn from this that contracts would not be based on ethnic opposition but on due diligence.
