Niger Delta activist, Comrade Preye Tambou, has warned ethnic groups in Delta State calling for the cancellation of the Federal Government’s pipeline surveillance contract awarded to Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), to desist forthwith.
He described the agitation as dangerous and divisive.
Tambou, speaking to reporters in Warri, said the campaign against Tantita on ethnic grounds threatens peaceful coexistence and undermines national security, stressing that the gains recorded in the oil and gas sector since the company took over surveillance duties are evident.
He noted that Nigeria’s crude oil production had been at a historic low before the engagement of private surveillance firms, adding that output improved only after Tantita commenced operations.
Tambou argued that pipeline surveillance is a Federal security contract, not an ethnic entitlement, and must be awarded strictly on merit and competence.
“Those agitating for cancellation of the pipeline surveillance job awarded to Tantita over ethnic grounds should discontinue such a puerile position,” Tambou said, warning that it could set “dangerous trends among ethnic groups in Delta State and beyond.”
He added, “When agitation shifts from ‘fix the system’ to ‘cancel it if I am not in charge,’ it stops being just and becomes elite competition by protest.
“Pipeline surveillance is not ‘common wealth’; it is a Federal security contract. You do not share a security contract the way you share revenue allocation; you earn it by capacity, trust, and results.”
He cautioned against proposals to fragment surveillance jobs among communities, warning that such an approach would fuel arms proliferation and weaken national security.
“The idea of ‘community guarding pipelines’ is a security nightmare,” Tambou said. “Fragmenting surveillance into hundreds of community fiefdoms would militarize communities, encourage extortion, create parallel armed structures, and collapse national energy security.”
Addressing allegations of corruption and wealth display, Tambou dismissed them as speculative without evidence.
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“Owning a Rolls-Royce is not proof of theft; spending dollars is not proof of corruption. If corruption exists, produce court-tested evidence, not gossip,” he said.
He maintained that the real metric should be oil theft reduction, noting that production rebounded after surveillance reforms, even if theft has not been completely eliminated.
Tambou also accused critics of selective outrage, recalling that previous surveillance contracts handled by other firms did not attract similar ethnic protests.
“The only thing that changed is the face of the contractor, and that alone reveals the dishonesty behind the current hysteria,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to focus on oversight and performance rather than ethnic hostility. Starting: “Criticism is legitimate, but ethnic hate is not. Reform what is imperfect, audit what is powerful, prosecute what is criminal, but never destroy what is functional without a superior alternative.”
