Some angry Youths from the Nembe and Brass Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State on Monday staged a protest against the incomplete payment of allowances by one of the Anti-crude oil theft surveillance contractors, Kojo Sam Logistics Limited.
The protest led to the seizing of patrol boats belonging to the company in the area.
Reports stated that over 2,000 youths engaged in Bayelsa State by the State Coordinator of the Tantita Security Services owned by the foremost Former Militant leader, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, were paid N200,000 monthly allowance for the job.
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However, the set of aggrieved boys attached to Kojo Sam Logistics Limited was paid N50,000.
This was despite the existing agreement between the Chief Executive Officer of Kojo Sam Logistics Limited, Chief Kojo Sam, and the Youths over the payment of N100, 000 monthly to accommodate more youths in the NNPC crude oil pipeline surveillance jobs.
The aggrieved Youths, mainly from Okpoama town in Brass Local Government Area of the State, having seized the boats, threatened to set them ablaze.
It was said that they accused Chief Kojo Sam of reneging on the existing agreement and short-changed them in the monthly payment of their oil pipeline surveillance jobs.
One of the angry Youths identified as Miebi, 34, however, blamed the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva for awarding the oil surveillance component for his community to an outsider instead of an Okpoama person. The angry youths were also from the same community as the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva.
Miebi said:
“Each worker were to be paid N200, 000 but the youths had agreed with Kojo Sam Logistics Ltd to pay N100,000 each to be able to accommodate more youths in the community.
“But instead of paying them the sum of N100, 000.00 as resolved, the company decided to pay N50, 000 a month to each of them.”
The youths warned that nobody would touch the boats until the money is fully paid. The ugly development is threatening the peace and security in the Okpoama community.
However, the Bayelsa Office of the Tantita Security Service, officials working with the Coordinator, Great Joshua Machiver was yet to comment on the matter.
Notwithstanding, a close source told newsmen that N200,000 was the minimum pay per personnel in Tantita Security services as approved by Tompolo.
It said:
“The Tompolo’s owned Tantita Security Services (Bayelsa Operations) headed by Great Joshua Maciver has paid the sum of N200,000 each to about 2000 staff deployed to various units for Pipeline Surveillance and to also curb the activities of illegal oil refineries in Bayelsa State. Some coordinators smile home with five to Ten millions and Tantita is not owing any staff as recruitment into various units of the surveillance job is still ongoing as the work progresses.”
Also, the management of Kojo Sam Logistics was yet to comment on the matter phone calls and text messages were not answered when contacted.
However, a close source told newsmen that there were to settle the issue of short-changed payments.
