Pipeline surveillance contract: OSPAC wants demands to be included

THE ONELGA Security Planning and Advisory Committee (OSPAC) has demanded its inclusion in the  pipeline surveillance contract awarded to Tantita Security Limited, a private security company owned by the  ex-Niger Delta militant, Chief Government Epemepolo, popularly known as Tompolo.

OSPAC is also a private security outfit founded  in  Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area in Rivers State  some years ago and has been consistent in providing security  in almost all parts of the state.

Speaking in an interview in Port Harcourt  recently, the Commander- General of OSPAC Nigeria, Kingsley Ogwumike, argued that the N4billion pipeline protection contract to Tompolo should  include  other groups like OSPAC, which has played vital roles in ensuring the security of lives and property in various parts of Rivers State.

Ogwumike  said that there is the  need  for equity in the way such contracts are awarded so that no part of the oil-rich Niger Delta region is left out.

He lamented that some parts of the region were often neglected each time such schemes were being  implemented, noting that ONELGA and other upland areas of the oil-bearing communities have always been excluded despite being the only ones that kept the peace during the height of militancy and youth unrest that almost crippled the nation’s oil production.

He specifically demanded that security outfits like OSPAC, which has a credible track record of achievement must  be involved in security of oil exploration and production in their areas of operations.

He said; “I want to seize this opportunity to call on the government and Tompolo   as well as  all those involved in the surveillance contract, to ensure that it must be all-inclusive and equitably distributed to accommodate all groups interested in the oil-rich region, to avert the feeling of marginalisation by some persons.

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“From our angle, we sincerely and wholeheartedly call on all involved to include OSPAC in the scheme of things. We feel that this is a better opportunity for those in the Niger Delta region  to recognise the effort of OSPAC and their contributions towards ensuring peace and security of lives and properties in every local government area we find ourselves. And by the special  grace of God, we also fall within the catchment area and the jurisdiction which the surveillance jobs will be carried out to secure not just pipeline but lives and properties in this area,”

The OSPAC commander added; “We are quietly and patiently waiting for a positive response from whichever committee is formed to see that OSPAC is given  its due quota.

“On the other hand we are calling on the multinationals especially the ones in ONELGA and its subsidiaries to stop denying our contributions and efforts towards ensuring that there is peace, sanity, and an enabling environment for them to operate in the region and their host communities.

“They should not forget so soon what they faced in the past, the homage and pay off they were forced to pay to some  elements that claimed to be generals and all that.”