Residents of riverine communities in Awoye, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, have called on the Federal Government to decentralise pipeline surveillance contracts across the Niger Delta, insisting that indigenous organisations and host communities should play a greater role in protecting oil and gas infrastructure.
The demand formed the basis of a peaceful protest held in Awoye, where hundreds of youths, women, traditional stakeholders, and community leaders marched through the community carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Decentralise Pipeline Surveillance Contract Now,” “Respect Host Communities,” and “Tantita Leave Our Territory.”
The protesters argued that concentrating pipeline surveillance responsibilities under a single private contractor, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd., does not adequately reflect the interests of host communities across the Niger Delta. They maintained that surveillance operations should be decentralised on a state-by-state basis to ensure broader community participation, create employment opportunities for local youths, and strengthen the protection of critical oil assets.
According to the demonstrators, communities that host oil facilities possess intimate knowledge of their environment and are better positioned to detect illegal activities, including crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism. They added that involving local organisations would improve accountability, foster cooperation with security agencies, and encourage greater community ownership of the surveillance process.
Addressing the Federal Government, the protesters urged President Bola Tinubu to review the current surveillance arrangement and adopt a decentralised model that gives oil-producing states and indigenous organisations a more active role in securing facilities within their respective communities.