IYC blasts UPU over call to scrap Tantita pipeline contract in Urhoboland

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Western Zone, has strongly condemned the recent call by the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) urging President Bola Tinubu to revoke the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to Tantita Security Services Limited in Urhobo territory.

In a statement jointly signed by the zone’s chairman, Comrade Nicholas Igarama; and secretary, Barr. Ebi Joshua Olowolayemo; and information officer, Comrade Tare Magbei, the IYC expressed disappointment, describing the UPU’s position as “a display of grave immaturity” and “a dangerous descent into ethnic blackmail.”

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According to the statement, “The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Western Zone, receives with great displeasure, the call by the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) on President Bola Tinubu to remove the pipeline surveillance contract from Tantita Security Services Limited on Urhobo territory.

“Council is not only taken aback by this display of grave immaturity by a critical organisation such as the UPU. We are concerned that the body may have lost touch with its foundational values, which include building strength in unity and good neighbourliness.”

The IYC clarified that the contract awarded to Tantita was strictly based on competence, not ethnicity, following an open bidding process. The group added that the company had proven itself through exceptional performance, contributing significantly to Nigeria’s oil production increase, which is now approaching 2 million barrels per day.

They pointed out the contradiction in the UPU’s stance, recalling that the same surveillance responsibility was once handled by Capt. Hosa Okunbo from Edo State for over eight years in Urhobo areas without protest from the UPU.

The IYC alleged that the sudden agitation stems from Tantita’s effectiveness in curbing illegal oil activities that may have previously gone unchecked. “Perhaps the company’s success in stopping illegal bunkering is what irks them,” the statement noted.

While acknowledging UPU’s right to advocate for Urhobo interests, the IYC warned against playing the ethnic card, citing numerous Urhobo contractors operating freely in Ijaw territories without interference or blackmail.

The group warned that if such actions by the UPU are not corrected, they could escalate existing tensions in Warri and surrounding areas, with potentially dangerous consequences.

The IYC therefore urged President Tinubu to disregard the UPU’s appeal and instead expand Tantita’s contract, stressing that the company has remained committed to securing oil assets and delivering impactful corporate social responsibility programmes.

They also appealed to the Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, to urgently intervene and ease the rising tensions, especially incidents of “coordinated attacks on well-meaning Ijaws by Urhobo and Itsekiri elements.”

Concluding, the IYC charged Tantita Security Services to remain steadfast in its mission, stating, “We charge Tantita to remain resolute in its course to sustain the fight against oil theft, illegal oil bunkering, and its all-around impactful corporate social responsibility approach.”