“The Chief Of Naval Staff visit to the Governor of Bayelsa State and the call for the cancellation of the surveillance contract awarded to Tantita Security Services is not a coincidence. If the navy and other security agencies are patriotic and diligent enough to halt oil and gas theft in the country, the federal government wouldn’t have engaged the service of Tantita. Perhaps the government realised the essentiality in engaging an indigenous outfit like Tantita to help salvage the situation. NEITI disclosed that from 2017 to 2021, Nigeria recorded 7,143 cases of pipeline breakages and deliberate vandalism resulting in crude theft and product losses of 208.639 million barrels valued at $12.74m or N4. 325tn.
“Since Tantita came on board, the impacts have been glaring. They’ve drastically curbed oil thefts and secured a host of the country’s assets. I realised that those perpetuating illegalities are actually the ones crying dirty about Tantita exploits. How do you explain a situation where a PDP chairman in Bayelsa, Solomon Agwana AKA ‘Chemical Ali’ lives practically on illegally stolen crude, refine it, and sell to same Government?” An X user said.
“The primary job of any state governor is to protect the lives and properties of its citizens. That doesn’t seem to apply to Governor Diri. Rather, it has been endangering the lives and properties of the region. We are very much aware of some of the roles these south-south governors play in the region’s illegality. The main guys perpetuating oil theft across States line are boys and partners to these governors. We must open our eyes to the reality around. I rest my case!” He further said.
