A coalition of Arewa Civil Society Groups has commended the award of crude oil surveillance contract to former militant leader Oweizide Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo in the Niger-Delta.
It urged the Federal Government to award security of other critical infrastructures like railway lines prone to attacks to him as well.
Reacting to the call made by some individuals condemning the award of crude oil pipeline surveillance contract to Tompolo, the group’s spokeperson Mallam Aminu Abbas said: “There’s nothing wrong if the Federal Government engages Tompolo’s services to help secure other critical economic prone infrastructure facilities aside the pipeline in our country to complementing the efforts of the Armed Forces.”
Abbas told reporters at a briefing in Kaduna there is a need to involve host communities in the quest to ensure proper safeguarding of government facilities, adding that it is high time the government reached out to respected people like Tompolo and other brave, gallant individuals to deploy their native strength and expertise to assist the conventional security agencies.
He said: ”Condemnation of the contract by some groups from the north is baseless hence we distance the good people of northern Nigeria to such a myopic action of some faceless group camouflaging in the name of Arewa. It’s important to note that the era of shadow chasing is over, what is expected of any concern Arewa Group at this critical material time is to engage all Concerned stakeholders from within and outside our region on how best to address the lingering problem of insecurity and bring it to a logical end.
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“To set the record straight, as at today, the issues affecting us ( Arewa) including banditry, cattle wrustling, kidnapping and other menance of insecurities that had remained a new order of the day, the activities mentioned have crippled our region economic activities and if appropriate measures are not taken, nobody can predict the faith of our region in the next one year.
“We want to use this medium in thanking Mr President for taking the right decision because our National asset will be secured even more by engaging the host communities to also join hands with our security agencies in protecting this facilities and in return would boast the Nigerian economy.”
He added: “We are confident that The government have awarded the contract to his company base on his track record, loyalty and dedication to the Nation and his familiarity to the terrain and this will help reduce oil theft and bunkering by over 85% against what we are currently witnessing as well improve IGR of our nation.”