The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has terminated the N9.3 billion surveillance contracts offered to some former Niger Delta militants and self-determination groups. It was learnt that President Muhammadu Buhari embargoed the renewal of the multimillion dollars pipeline surveillance contracts which expired yesterday. In March, the Federal Government under erstwhile President Goodluck Jonathan through the NNPC had handed over the job of protecting the nation’s oil and gas pipelines and waterways to former militants and self determination groups.
Among the beneficiaries of the contracts are Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo), Mujaheed Asari-Dokubo and Chief Bipobiri Ajube (aka Gen. Shoot-At-Sight) alongside Fasehun and Gani Adams of OPC. The terms of the contracts detailed seven companies to operate in allocated “regions” or operational areas: Egbe Security River One (Bayelsa), Gallery Security (Mosinmi-Ore), Close Body Protection (Edo State), Adex Energy Security (Rivers), Donyx Global Concept (Lagos and Ogun), Oil Facilities Surveillance (Delta) and New Age Global Security (Mosinmi-Ibadan).
Checks by New Telegraph revealed that the President decided to wait till the expiration of the three-month contracts. “He has embargoed the renewal of the contracts to these groups. They are just three-month contracts and it is best to allow them to expire than to terminate them. He was advised not to rock the boat and he followed that advice,” a source at the Presidency told this newspaper. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) confirmed that the contracts have not been renewed.
The corporation said that contrary to speculation that the contracts were terminated, they actually lapsed by mid-night of Sunday. Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs of the NNPC, Ohi Alegbe, who said this added that it was not abnormal for contracts to expire. “The contracts expired and they are yet to be renewed,” he said. The Presidency source, however, added that President Buhari who has not hidden his disdain for such contracts to be in the hands of civilian groups has ordered the contracts should be handed over to the Army, Navy, as well as the police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
One of the beneficiaries of the contracts and the founder of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Dr. Frederick Fasehun, said the corporation sent a text message to him that it has invalidated the terms of agreement of the contract less than three months after they were awarded to the groups.
Fasehun, whose company, New Age Global Security is in charge of pipelines in Mosinmi- Ibadan, said: “The NNPC sent a message to us over the weekend that they are terminating the contract three months after it was awarded.They even commended us for doing a good job for the period we were in charge. But we have told them that they must pay our three-month arrears because they have not paid us for the period we worked there.”
