Some ex-militants in the region had criticised the recent extension of the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to Tantita Security Services led by Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo.
The Niger Delta Peace Front has cautioned ex-militants in the region to avoid being used by saboteurs against Nigeria's economy.
Some ex-militants in the region had criticised the recent extension of the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to Tantita Security Services led by Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo.
Group reacts
Reacting in a statement on Sunday by its Chairperson, Patterson Efemena, and Secretary, Philip Onyem, the group said it was "curious and suspicious" that those who allegedly benefitted from the contract in the past are now the people leading the campaign against it.
"We have observed the sponsored mudslinging and other veiled threats to the federal government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over the renewal of the oil pipeline contract awarded to Tantita Security Services Limited
"As stakeholders in the Niger Delta, we have resisted the urge to join the fray in the days leading to the renewal of the critical contract to Tantita Security Limited," the group said in the statement.
"We have tried discreetly to prevail on those who have committed huge amounts of funds to sponsor the most invidious publications not just against Tantita but also the NNPCL and top government functionaries to stop and embrace the prevailing mood of the nation that says enough to oil theft," they added.
The group urged those behind "these threats and name calling" to desist from it and pursue "the things" that can improve Nigeria's finances and address the region's ecological challenges.
"Oil theft has to be called its right name - a plague on the financial well-being of our country. We will surely do better if we commit half of the energy we have dissipated on this issue to the product end of putting up a concerted front under Tantita to fight oil theft," the group stated.
They stressed that those who are seeking to win the contract should know that contracts are not won by "hurling insults" at the authorities awarding the contracts, adding that the contract was executed at a heavier cost 12 years ago without protest.
The group commended President Bola Tinubu and the NNPCL for their "commitments" to fighting oil theft in the country.
"As people from the Niger Delta, we should join forces with Tantita to prosecute a successful campaign for our country and our environment rather than supporting the saboteurs of our economy over a port of porridge," they stated.
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Background
Oil theft, illegal bunkering in oil-producing communities mainly in South-south Nigeria, and its negative impact on the country's economy have been a source of concern to the Nigerian government over the years.
The government under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari had, in August 2022, awarded a pipeline surveillance contract reportedly worth N48 billion per year (N4 billion per month) to Mr Ekpemupolo to check massive oil theft in the region.
However, some individuals and groups, mainly ex-militants from the Niger Delta region, called on Mr Tinubu not to renew the contract.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, for instance, in August also criticised the federal government for awarding the pipeline surveillance contract to "one man."
Mr Fubara spoke when a federal government delegation on the security of oil and gas assets visited him at the Government House Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The delegation was led by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
"Security of the pipeline should not be given to one man or one person. How can someone from Kalabari be controlling the pipeline in Ogoni?" Mr Fubara said, without mentioning names.
"There is no way it will work. We must look at all the key people in the various communities," the governor added.
