The House of Representatives members and stakeholders from the Niger Delta have declared that the renewed agitations for the decentralisation of the Tantita Pipeline Surveillance Contract are unnecessary, misleading, and contrary to the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.

The position was adopted at a Joint Retreat of the House of Representatives Committee on Host Communities (HOSTCOM) and Public Petitions alongside leaders of oil-bearing communities and host local government areas hosting refineries.

In a motion presented during the retreat, the stakeholders maintained that the Petroleum Industry Act had already created a decentralised legal framework for community participation in pipeline surveillance through the Host Communities Development Trust structure and the statutory three per cent operational funding allocation to host communities.

The motion noted that Chapter 3 of the PIA (Sections 234–258) sufficiently empowers host communities across the Niger Delta to participate in the protection of critical oil and gas infrastructure through recognised institutional structures backed by law.

The gathering expressed concern over what it described as “misleading campaigns” seeking the fragmentation or redistribution of the private surveillance contract handled by Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited.

According to the stakeholders, the Tantita contract remains strictly a private commercial arrangement between the Federal Government of Nigeria, acting through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, and therefore falls outside the statutory HOSTCOM provisions of the PIA.

The leaders warned that continued agitation over the contract could distract the Niger Delta from more pressing regional priorities, particularly ongoing efforts to increase the HOSTCOM allocation from three per cent to six per cent.

The retreat consequently passed a series of resolutions affirming that decentralisation under the PIA remains the legitimate framework for community participation in pipeline surveillance activities across the region.

The stakeholders also clarified that the Tantita surveillance contract is not subject to ethnic, regional, or political sharing arrangements, insisting that all demands for its “decentralisation” should cease immediately.

They further called on Niger Delta leaders, youth groups, traditional rulers, and community advocates to redirect their energies toward supporting legislative efforts aimed at increasing host community funding under the PIA from three per cent to six per cent.

The meeting reaffirmed support for ongoing efforts to safeguard critical oil infrastructure and maintain peace and stability in the Niger Delta through lawful and institutional mechanisms established under the Petroleum Industry Act.