'Decentralisation push on pipeline surveillance is disaster waiting to happen’ N' Delta activist
Elo EDREMODA, Warri Growing calls to decentralise Nigeria‘s pipeline surveillance system have triggered fresh concerns among policy analysts and security stakeholders who warn that fragmenting oversight of critical oil infrastructure
Elo EDREMODA, Warri
Growing calls to decentralise Nigeria's pipeline surveillance system have triggered fresh concerns among policy analysts and security stakeholders who warn that fragmenting oversight of critical oil infrastructure could reverse recent gains in production and stability.
The debate, which has drawn in former militant leaders including Ateke Tom, Boyloaf, and Shoot-at-Sight, is being framed by proponents as a push for equity.
A Niger Delta youth leader Comrade Preye Tambou, however, argued that it is a bid to redistribute lucrative federal contracts rather than improve security outcomes.
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“The decentralisation being demanded is a security disaster waiting to happen. Breaking surveillance into multiple militant fiefdoms will multiply extortion points, complicate intelligence gathering, encourage rival armed structures, and return the Niger Delta to a competitive militarized economy,” Tambou said, in a statement, Friday.
Pipeline surveillance, a federally controlled security function, had in recent years been consolidated under private operators, including Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited.
