The fragile peace in the Niger Delta in the last few years may be at risk should the Federal Government proceed with the alleged plan to cancel the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to ex-militant leaders in the region, Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), Asari-Dokubor, Victor Ebi.
An Ijaw leader and chairman of Izon-Ebe Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, Chief Favour Izoukumor, said the alleged plan,if effected ,is capable of sparking fresh crises in the region.
He warned that stopping the contract will push thousands of families in the region back into poverty. “This will unleash more hardship and attendant effect of more restiveness and violent agitations in the creeks and towns of the region,” Izoukumor said.
Izoukumor’s warning came against the backdrop of reports that thousands of the aggrieved ex-militants are poised for a showdown with the Federal Government over their fate. Sources said the aggrieved youths have concluded plans to hand the Federal Government a 31-day ultimatum to renew the contract or face dire consequences.
It was gathered that at least 8,000 angry youths will be affected by the non-renewal of the contract, which was awarded in 2010 to Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), Asari-Dokubor, Victor Ebi and others for an initial period of one year.
Tompolo is said to be finding it difficult to convince his former foot-soldiers not to return to the trenches on account of non-payment of their salaries in the last few months.
Izoukumor told The Nation that every ethnic group and interest group in Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers benefited from the contract while it lasted .
He said:“As a leader of Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdom and chairman of IOPCF, we held a series of meetings and I made my inputs along with others.”
“The slot is for oil producing communities and oil producing communities in these areas benefit. I am surprised that people are saying it is Tompolo’s contract. Yes, he is involved, along with others, but the benefit is not for him; it is for the host communities.”
The IOPCF chief said that the impact of the contract’s cancellation would not be felt by Tompolo, stressing that thousands of hitherto jobless youths who were the beneficiaries of the initiative would be the ones to suffer.
“My advice to Mr. President is that he should not succumb to pressure to cancel this contract because those advising and pressuring him to do so do not mean well for him and this country because nobody who really knows the benefit of the surveillance contract will contemplate that.
“If we even think that only eight or ten thousand lives would be affected, then we are grossly wrong because these young men and women have dependants whose lives have been changed by the stipend they receive to do this genuine job. Right now, most of these workers are in school to improve their lives.
“Again, I will continue to say this: those who say the contract is just settlement for the former armed agitators do not know what they are saying. I say this because if you know the degree of sanity that has returned to the creeks, particularly Delta and parts of Bayelsa, you will appreciate what I mean.”
Izoukumor, who is also the Chairman of oil-rich Ajuju Community Development Community, urged the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to put machinery in place to check allegations of non-performance levelled against some of the beneficiaries.
“You can throw away the baby with the bathwater in this situation, particularly with the situation in the Niger Delta region. You can see that the region has been very peaceful, in fact residents of Warri will tell you that the last Christmas was the most peaceful in years,” he added.
