Engr. Udengs Eradiri, former President, Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, on Monday described the Tantita surveillance contract as one of the positive things inherited and sustained by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying it had stopped the conflicts that led to the decline in oil production.
Eradiri, however, accused those he called unprogressive elements and enemies of Nigeria and conflict merchants, saying that they were behind the calls that the oil and gas security surveillance contract awarded to Tantita Security Services (TSS) be cancelled.
He therefore asked President Bola Tinubu to disregard those calls, insisting that such individuals were only interested in returning the Niger Delta to the dark era of unchecked illegal oil bunkering, violence and bloodshed.
Eradiri, who was the Secretary-General of IYC during the militancy era, said it was shocking that some people could, out of jealousy and hatred for Tompolo, the founder of TSS, be against the firm that had done a lot to stabilize the security and peace of the region.
He said such persons were not happy that the activities of Tompolo and Tantita had stabilised the region, making it one of the most peaceful zones in the country.
Eradiri, a former Commissioner for Youths and later Environment in Bayelsa State, recalled that prior to the contract, the IYC, the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and other agitators had clamoured for local participation in the protection of oil and gas facilities in their domains.
He said the government listened to the agitations and chose to engage Tompolo and his company because of his high level of community engagement, organisation, discipline and self-sacrifice.
Eradiri noted that since Tompolo and his partners, including Mathew Tonlagha of Maton Engineering, took over the contract, they had ensured that its benefits trickle down to the least stakeholders in the Niger Delta to give everyone a sense of belonging.
He said such individuals were also bellyaching that the Managing Director of Tantita, Keston Pondei, and Mathew Tonlagha had displayed enviable generosity in reaching out to the less privileged and committing resources to solve their problems in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu.
Eradiri, a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), said Tantita had provided jobs for thousands of stakeholders, mainly youths across all the nine states of the Niger Delta, adding that the company had empowered many people with decent lifestyles.
He said for some years, the yuletide in the Niger Delta and travelling along major roads in the region, especially the East-West Road, had remained the most peaceful, attributing the development to the engagement of the youths by Tantita.
Besides, Eradiri argued that the political enemies of President Tinubu were sponsoring the campaign against Tantita because they saw Tompolo’s love for the President and his desire to deliver bloc votes for the President as a threat to their 2027 ambition.
He appealed to the President to consider the gains already achieved by Tantita and seek ways of expanding the contract instead of either shrinking or cancelling it.
Eradiri reminded the President that persons attacking Tantita had chosen to feign ignorance of where the country and the Niger Delta came from and would be nowhere to be found when the chips were down.
Eradiri said the discipline so far displayed by Tompolo deserved to be studied, adding that despite the resources available at his disposal, he chose to live with his people in the communities, always strategizing to keep the peace.
Tompolo has remained in his community. You hardly find him in the city or see him in enjoyment areas. He rather prefers to stay in the community to keep strategizing on securing the infrastructures and keeping the peace in the region. It is rare to see someone exposed to that kind of resources and still discipline himself.
“Tantita Security Service that is providing security for oil and gas infrastructures in the Niger Delta is one of the positive things that the administration has sustained. It came about from the conflict that had led to the decline of oil production in the region and the government wanted a permanent solution to the problem.
“The Ijaw Youths Council and the agitators in the region had constantly talked about participating in the activities of the region. The government decided to hand it over to the people of the region. But you must deal with somebody and Tompolo displayed the discipline and the organisation to be able to transact with the federal government and that is what I think the federal government did at the time and it had seen oil production go up and restored investor confidence.
“Many foreign investments are coming into the Niger Delta and it is already creating a lot of engagements and jobs for our people. If anybody is supporting the cancellation of that contract, the person does not mean well for our country. It is surprising that people will bring such issue, discussing it and suggesting that it should be cancelled.
“These people don’t know where we are coming from and when the chips are down you will never find them. I call on the President to ignore such calls. Let’s look at the gains we have made versus where we are coming from. Are we making progress? Yes, we are. Are the young people engaged?
“In fact, in Bayelsa, Rivers, Imo, Edo, Ondo, Akwa Ibom and Abia, many young people are involved. Many of them are living a decent life because of what Tompolo is doing. Many people will take this job, keep the money to themselves and become lords in the region.
“You talk about Chief Mathew Tonlagha, the Managing Director of Maton Engineering Nigeria Limited. This is a man who has distinguished himself in engineering and construction in the oil and gas sector over the years. He has been a worthy partner in deepening the peace in the Niger Delta,” Eradiri narrated.
