IIV to FG: Push for smaller pipeline surveillance contracts, calculated move to revive illegal bunkering

An advocacy group, Iwere Indigenous Voice, IIV, has called on the Federal Government to disregard calls for decentralization of pipeline surveillance contract, saying it’s a calculated move by certain actors to gain unfettered access to oil facilities and “revive the lucrative and destructive trade of illegal bunkering under the guise of official protection.”

Public Relations Officer, PRO of Iwere Indigenous Voice, IIV, Comr. Abaikpa Isaac Oritsegbubemi, made the declaration in a statement made available to newsmen in Warri, Tuesday April 7.

According to Comr. Oritsegbubemi, the proposal to fragment the pipeline security job, isn't just a policy shift, it is a potential invitation to anarchy.

 “On the surface, the calls for decentralization are often framed as a quest for regional inclusion and grassroots empowerment. The latest public statements are self-serving campaign. The rhetoric of equity, lies the shadow of personal interest.

“One of the core arguments presented to the Presidency is that pipeline security must be treated as a rigorous national security function, not a political patronage system.

“The current relative peace in the region is evidence that the existing centralized strategy is working.

“By engaging competent, large-scale professional firms, the government has seen; a measurable decline in crude oil theft, increased stability in host communities and heightened operational discipline in notoriously difficult terrains.

“Decentralization, as currently proposed, is nothing more than a coded attempt to legitimize disorder,” the IIV statement warned.

The group fears that creating "multiple centers of unregulated control" would dismantle the progress made over the last few years.

Rather than diluting the current system, the IIV suggests that the path to a more secure Niger Delta lies in reinforcement, not fragmentation.

IIV called on President Tinubu administration to; increase the kilometre reach of current successful frameworks, provide more operational resources to firms with proven track records and ensure that accountability remains the primary metric for contract retention.

The IIV also urged traditional rulers, youth organizations and community leaders, to look past divisive narratives, arguing that the future of the Niger Delta depends on a collective commitment to lawful economic activity and a rejection of the "get-rich-quick" schemes that have historically fuelled violence in the region.

“To disturb the current framework in favor of decentralization would be to risk plunging the region back into an era of economic sabotage and communal strife”, IIV, warned.

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