In a viral video, Asari Dokubo, the previous Niger Delta militant chief, mentioned the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, and businessman Osahon Okunbo obtain N2.7 trillion a 12 months from the Federal Government for pipeline surveillance. He was defending Government Ekpemupolo, popularly referred to as Tompolo, whose personal contract has drawn heavy criticism.
Starting with the arithmetic, Tompolo’s contract was first reported at about N48 billion a 12 months, so Dokubo’s determine is roughly 56 instances bigger. He first referred to as it a month-to-month sum earlier than correcting himself to annual; had it been month-to-month, it will have come to N32.4 trillion a 12 months. Dokubo confirmed no contract, financial institution assertion or NNPC report. The Olu of Warri’s palace, by way of its consultant, referred to as the declare false and challenged him to provide paperwork. Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, which he additionally named, petitioned the Department of State Services over what it referred to as false and inciting allegations.
According to some commentators, warning is warranted with such experiences due to Dokubo’s historical past. He led the armed Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force in opposition to the state, later took a pipeline safety contract reportedly price $10 million a 12 months beneath the Yar’Adua amnesty, and backed President Bola Tinubu in 2023 earlier than saying the nation is worse than it began.
Of course, it’s not as if that report makes the query fallacious. A contract’s worth covers personnel, logistics, and subcontractors, so even a verified determine wouldn’t present what any named particular person earned.
Dokubo additionally mentioned Tompolo is focused as a result of he’s Ijaw. By itself, that may be a declare that turns a query about contracts into one about ethnicity.
Pipeline safety issues to nationwide funds as a result of vandalism and crude theft reduce authorities income and international trade earnings. The public is entitled to know who’s paid to forestall that loss, how a lot, and the way outcomes are measured.
As consultants have concluded, the Federal Government and NNPC Limited can settle this by publishing every surveillance contract’s construction, verified worth, duties, and efficiency measures, withholding solely what nationwide safety requires. If the declare fails, a transparent correction would defend these named.
