The Amalgamated Arewa Youth Groups, AAYG, have fumed at the award of pipeline surveillance contract worth over N4billion monthly to a former Niger Delta militant, Government Ekpemupolo, otherwise called, Tompolo, by the Nigerian National Petroleum Limited, NNPC.
It further called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the minister of state for petroleum, Timipre Sylva; and director, upstream of the NNPC Ltd, Adokiye Tombomelye, for facilitating the deal.
The group issued a seven-day ultimatum asking the federal government or the NNPC to withdraw the contract or be forced to either protest or take legal action.
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“We received the news of the award of pipeline surveillance contract worth over N4b, by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited to Mr. Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, a former leader of the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta with rude shock,” the group lamented.
Spokesperson of the organisation, comprising a coalition of 225 youth groups from the 19 northern states and Abuja, Comrade Victor Duniya, in a statement issued in Kaduna, said: “Our group gathered that the said contract is meant to end illegal bunkering, illegal refining, and other forms of oil theft in the Niger Delta.
“We are particularly concerned that in the early days of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration when Tompolo was declared wanted by the EFCC, there was the uncontrolled bombing of oil facilities in the Niger Delta, which contributed in so small measure to dragging Nigeria into recession.”
The northern coalition lamented that
“It is most unfortunate that the our government and management of the NNPC Limited will submit themselves cheaply to the blackmail of a man whose major business initiative is to raise arms against the state, and assemble cultists from his region, in his country home to do his bidding, as the major qualification to be awarded contract to protect oil installations in the Niger Delta region of our country.”
Duniya noted that “the seeming triumph of people like Tompolo over our armed forces, is a clear case of abdication of responsibilities,” stressing “otherwise 1, 000, 000 of his likes wouldn’t succeed against 200, 000,000 Nigerians.”
He said:
“We are however not surprised that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, who ought to have rallied the armed forces to restore peace in the Niger Delta, the same way he is doing in the South East, South West and the Boko Haram ravaged North East, shows that he has allowed the Niger Delta solidarity to overtake national interest, a virtue our armed forces is known for,” while calling for his resignation, along with other service chiefs.
Duniya remarked that reports at the disposal of the Arewa Youths, “attributed the award of the contract to the roles Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, and Group Executive Director of the NNPC Limited, Upstream, Engr. Adokiye Tombomelye played,’ alleging that ‘they are said to be people who brokered the deal.”
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