Condemnations have continued to trail the calls in some quarters for the decentralisation of oil pipeline surveillance contracts, as more groups in the Niger Delta region have kicked against it.
Joining the fray against the decentralisation calls are the 21st Century Youths of Niger Delta and Agitators with Conscience (21st CYNDAC ) and Niger Delta Stakeholders for Accountable Security, stating that the region has resolved to choose progress over looting state resources.
Leader of the 21st CYNDAC, Mr Izon Ebi, reiterated the group’s rejection of the call in a statement on Sunday, where he describing it as politically motivated and bunkering syndicates sponsored calls for the decentralization of the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to Tantita Security Services.
“We, the undersigned stakeholders, youth leaders, and community representatives from across the Niger Delta, issue this statement to reject the recent communiqué calling for the immediate decentralisation of pipeline and oil & gas infrastructure surveillance contracts.
“We respect the right of citizens to voice their concerns, but we will not stand silent while the region is pushed back toward a system that enriched criminals, destroyed our environment and destabilized the economy.
“Tantita is delivering results. That’s why the bunkering syndicates want decentralization back. The recent statement calling for a return to the so-called decentralization pipeline surveillance era is not about the Niger Delta. It’s about protecting the interests of oil bunkering syndicates who lost their grip when accountability returned.
“We counter it directly because it is driven by jealousy, hatred and the old bring him down syndrome that punishes our own people for succeeding.”
Going down memory lane, the leader noted that the containment of the Niger Delta Avengers in 2016, was achieved through the efforts of the Pan Niger Delta Forum PANDEF, under the leadership of the late elder statesman Pa Edwin Clark.
“PANDEF leaders went into the creeks to engage the Avengers and secure a ceasefire through dialogue. That was a collective, national effort led by elders across the region. We correct the record because accuracy matters. And we honour the role PANDEF played in preventing a greater crisis.
“The 2011-2015 surveillance model being pushed today is the same system that
allowed oil theft to reach industrial scale, with Nigeria losing hundreds of thousands of barrels daily, turning rivers in Delta, Bayelsa, and Rivers into ecological disaster zones. It saw production collapsed to 900,000 barrels per day in 2016 when beneficiaries of the system turned against the state.
“Production briefly hit 2.4-2.5 mbpd, but that was driven by a mix of global oil prices, short-term truces, and PANDEF-led dialogue. When oversight was weak, the structure collapsed,” they said.
They noted that the current coordinated model of surveillance is delivering productive results leading to steady increase in daily oil and gas production.
“Since 2022, pipeline protection has been run under central coordination by NNPCL and the office of the National Security Adviser, with Tantita Security Services operating under direct oversight of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The results are verifiable
“Over 2,000 illegal refineries dismantled across Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa and Ondo states, Crude production rose from 1.1 mbpd in mid-2022 to 1.5 t-1.7 mbpd in 2025/2026.
“Waterways are clearing with communities reporting the return of fishing and reduced surface oil sheen. Contracts are auditable with key performance indicators, NSA oversight, and military command. Failure has consequences.This is not an unchecked authority. This is state authority, with a contractor executing under law,” they further explained.
Questioning the sinister motive behind the current push by individuals for decentralisation, they said “the loudest voices demanding a return to the old system are linked to networks that lost access when coordination improved. They want contracts split so they can operate in the gaps again.
“Framing this as “community ownership” is misleading. Real community ownership means clean rivers, jobs, and security. It does not mean returning billions to unaccountable actors with no legal liability.
“We also reject the “bring him down” syndrome. When a Niger Delta-owned company like Tantita delivers where others failed, it should be supported, not sabotaged out of jealousy.”
Further, the group made the following demands. “Maintain central coordination. Keep pipeline surveillance under NSA/NNPCL command with the Armed Forces in lead. No return to parallel armed networks.
“Publish an Audit: Release a full audit of pipeline surveillance contracts from 2011-2015. Let Nigerians see what was spent and what was delivered.
“Formalize community role. Create a legal framework for host communities to provide intelligence and monitoring under military and civil authority.
“Address amnesty separately. Investigate any issues with the Presidential Amnesty Programme on its own merit. Do not use it to blackmail national security policy.”
21st CYNDAC pledged support for president Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Tantita Security Services, NNPCL , NDAand the legacy of PANDEF’s peace efforts and communities that choose lawful progress over sabotage.
“The Niger Delta does not need another decade of looting disguised as policy. We need clean rivers, secure pipelines, and economic opportunity for our youth. That is what the current model is delivering.”
