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A group in the Niger Delta region, under the aegis of ‘Creek Dragons,’ has demanded urgent revocation of the oil pipeline surveillance security contract, awarded by the Federal Government to the company of the Olu of Warri, Ocean Marine.
This was contained in a statement signed by the leader of the group, Freedom Adowei, and addressed to the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), as well as other relevant stakeholders in the Federal Executive Council, copy of which was sighted by journalists in Warri on Saturday.
The group stated that, “The Olu’s pipeline surveillance security contract should be revoked urgently, because it has no positive impact on the lives of Niger Deltans and members of the host communities.”
“We are telling the Federal Government of Nigeria that the contract is in wrong hands and company, because they are not doing anything. This contract we are talking about is worth billions of Naira, yet no impact on the lives of other traditional rulers,” the group said.
According to the group, the Ocean Marine company handled by the Olu of Warri “is not competent enough”.
It further argued that the firm “has refused to pay workers as at when due, and is doing nothing in protecting the pipelines”.
The statement read partly, “How can you pay surveillance security workers 25k as monthly salary? This is really unheard of.
“We are calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to urgently terminate and revoke the pipeline surveillance security contract awarded to the Olu of Warri. This call has become necessary because we can no longer remain mute when things are going wrong.
“We are telling the Federal Government of Nigeria that the contract is in a wrong hand and company because they are not doing anything. This contract we are talking about is worth billions of Naira yet no impact on the lives of other traditional rulers.
“He is alien to the terrain and has not engaged any stakeholder in the region for the protection of the pipelines even when his contract sum is the highest. He is giving out crumbs and pocketing everything to himself without considering others. Youths are complaining, the contract did not engage people as expected, even the few are underpaid and at some instances, they struggled for months to get paid.
“These are some of the reasons why there is youth restiveness. Only one man is eating while the rest are suffering. We cannot allow this to continue. The Federal Government of Nigeria has made a huge mistake by awarding the contract to Ocean Marine, it is not too late as we are calling for the urgent revocation of the contract.
“It is our call that the contract be revoked and be given to a more competent company that will engage more people in the region. There is so much suffering in the land. We cannot watch our people suffer beyond this. Let us make hay while the sun shines.”
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