Northern groups clash over Nigeria govt’s N4bn pipeline surveillance contract to Tompolo

Two Northern groups have traded words over the N4 billion worth of pipeline surveillance contract awarded to ex-Niger Delta militant, Government Ekpemupolo otherwise known as ‘Tompolo’, by the Nigerian National Petroleum Limited.

The groups are: The Coalition of Arewa Civil Society Groups and the Amalgamated Arewa Youth Groups. While the former supported the award of the contract, the latter kicked against it.

The Amalgamated Arewa Youth Groups on Tuesday, asked the Federal Government and the NNPC to revoke the contract else it would be forced to either protest or sue.

The group also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, and the Director, Upstream of the NNPC LTD, Mr. Adokiye Tombomelye, for “promoting ethnic and regional interest”.

It also called for the sack of the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, “for using his office to allegedly reward criminality.”

In what seemed a swift response, the Arewa Civil Society Groups described the call for the revocation of the contract and the sack of the minister, other NNPC executives as “baseless”

Its Spokesperson, Mallam Aminu Abbas, while addressing journalists in Kaduna, distanced the Northern region from the pronouncement of the “faceless Arewa Group.”

According to him, the Federal Government/NNPC contracting the pipeline surveillance to the Niger Delta war-lord is a step in the right direction.

He added that apart from the pipeline surveillance, the Federal Government should equally award the contract securing rail lines from terrorists in the north to Tompolo.

He said, “our attention has been drawn to the unpatriotic call made by a faceless Arewa Group on the crude oil surveillance contract awarded by the federal government through NNPC Limited to a respected Nationalist of repute, Government Ekpemupolo better known as ‘Tompolo.’

“The condemnation call is baseless; hence we distance the good people of northern Nigeria to such a myopic action of some faceless group camouflaging in the name of AREWA.

“It’s important to note that the era of shadow chasing is over. What is expected of any concerned Arewa Group at this critical material time is to engage all concerned stakeholders from within and outside our region on how best to address the lingering problem of insecurity and bring it to a logical end.

“We want to use this medium to thank Mr President for making the right decision because our National asset will be secured even more by engaging the host communities to join hands with our security agencies in protecting these facilities and, in return, would boost the Nigerian economy.”

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