Youth groups in Rivers State have raised fresh concerns over pipeline surveillance operations in the Niger Delta, alleging exclusion from a National Assembly engagement on the matter and calling for decentralisation of the surveillance contract.
The groups including the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP), and Ogoni Host Communities Youth Associations, staged a peaceful protest in Gokana Local Government Area, Rivers State.
They expressed dissatisfaction over what they described as their exclusion from discussions affecting oil-bearing communities.
Speaking during the protest, the President of the Ijaw Youth Council, Alaye Theophilus, said the groups were not invited to participate in the National Assembly roundtable on pipeline surveillance and crude oil theft.
“We were not invited to appear before the National Assembly to defend our petition, despite claims by the committees,” he said during the protest in Gokana, Rivers State.
He called on the Presidency and the Office of the National Security Adviser to urgently consider decentralising the pipeline surveillance contract, arguing that such a move would ensure fairness and improve effectiveness.
“The Federal Government, as a matter of urgency, should decentralise the pipeline surveillance contract so that each state can manage its own, in the interest of equity and fairness,” he said.
Also speaking, the President of the National Youth Council of Ogoni People, Marcus Nwibani, said the agitation was driven by the need for inclusion in decisions affecting oil-producing communities.
“We are not here for publicity; we are here because the Niger Delta is critical to this country,” he said, stressing that host communities must be involved in resource management discussions.
He added, “What belongs to the people must be given to the people,” insisting that Ogoni communities should not be excluded from pipeline surveillance arrangements.
In a similar statement at the protest in Rivers State, the President of the Ogoni Youths Federation, Emmanuel Bie, said oil-producing communities have long been sidelined despite decades of oil exploration.
“Since oil was discovered in Ogoni in 1958, our people have remained spectators in decisions affecting our resources,” he said.
He argued that local participation in surveillance contracts would improve monitoring and reduce crude oil theft, noting that communities have the capacity to contribute effectively to security operations.
The youth leaders maintained that involving host communities in pipeline surveillance would promote inclusion, accountability, and long-term peace in the Niger Delta region.
Meanwhile, traditional rulers in Rivers State have backed the existing pipeline surveillance framework.
Speaking at an expanded press briefing in Port Harcourt, the monarchs urged the Federal Government to maintain the current structure, saying it has helped improve security of oil facilities since its introduction in 2022.
At the centre of the debate is the pipeline surveillance arrangement handled by Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, which stakeholders say has significantly reduced oil theft and vandalism across the region.
