A coalition, under the aegis of Civil Society Coalition for Mandate Protection (CSC-MAP), held a rally in Lagos held Wednesday, calling President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to put a stop to the pattern of giving pipeline contracts to people associated with violence in the country
The coalition at the rally, which took place in the Ojota area of the state and was attended by representatives of indigenous peoples from oil-producing communities in Lagos, Ondo, and Delta states, who were seen with various banners such as “Stop Pipeline Contracts to Bandits,” “No more pipeline contracts for former militants,” “Don’t Give Pipelines Protection in Itsekiriland to Our Enemy,” “Probe illegal arms in Niger-Delta,” “Okuoma Killings: Who gave the Guns,” among others, while making the call, cautioned that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) may be unconsciously empowering armed groups through pipeline contracts in the Niger Delta.
Addressing newsmen at the rally, CSC-MAP Deputy Coordinator, Comrade Popoola Ajayi, insisted that pipeline protection in Itsekiri and Yoruba territories should be given to professionals and that pipelines in Itsekiri and Yoruba territories should not be given to former bandits who once led armed insurrection against the state, saying that it might be compelled to hold rallies in Abuja to draw the attention of the Presidency, the National Assembly, and the International Community to the issue.
Ajayi, while expressing the coalition’s full support for the reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and asking Nigerians to be patient to reap the dividends, said the oil-producing communities were concerned that while oil pipeline contracts were a means of providing jobs for local communities, the majority of people in oil-producing companies were sidelined by the fact that some of the companies involved in pipeline protection were not indigenous to the communities and territories that they were expected to protect.
“The indigenous peoples vehemently oppose the idea of giving the protection of pipelines in Itsekiri and Ilaje lands to Mr Government Ekemuokpolo, who is said to have led armed battles against Itsekiri and Ilaje in the past.
“We want President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to succeed. We do not want anything that can lead to another round of crisis in the oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta. The NNPC must never give protection to pipelines in Itsekiri and Ilaje territories to Tompolo. Any attempt to do this is an invitation to chaos,” he said.
“The coalition of oil-producing communities is concerned that while oil pipeline contracts are a means of providing jobs for local communities, the majority of people in oil-producing companies are sidelined by the fact that some of the companies involved in pipeline protection are not indigenous to the communities and territories that they are expected to protect.
“The indigenous communities like Itsekiri and Ilaje are being sidelined. There is a looming dispute that can snowball into a major problem. It is inconceivable that oil pipeline protection in Itsekiri and Ilaje has been handed over to interests that fought these communities with arms and ammunition in the past.
The danger is that leaders of armed groups in the name of pipeline protection are being fortified and funded to have dominion over Itsekiri and Ilaje territories, which is totally unacceptable,” he warned.
Popoola, therefore, called on President Tinubu to review the oil pipeline contracts to ensure that local and indigenous people that host oil and oil pipelines were direct beneficiaries, saying sadly that millions of youths remained unemployed in Iteskiri communities, even though they were from oil-producing communities.
Besides, he urged that the Federal Government should ensure pipeline protection does not lead to the proliferation of arms in the oil-producing communities, saying that the communities were worried following the killings of 17 soldiers in the Niger Delta, a development that clearly showed that certain elements in the Niger Delta were in possession of dangerous weapons.
The group deputy coordinator equally called on the Federal Government to launch a new amnesty to ensure armed groups remaining in the Niger Delta hand over their arms to the Federal Government, just as he also charged the government to set up a committee made up of security agencies and community leaders to investigate the source of arms used in the killing of the soldiers and to punish those responsible for the proliferation of arms in the area.
Leaders who also spoke at the rally were CSC-MAP Assistant Secretary Ajayi Lateef, Abubakar Salami, and Uzor Jideofor.
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