By Felix Ekwu
Tensions have flared among Urhobo youths in the Niger Delta region following allegations of undue interference by the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) in the allocation of a multi-billion naira oil pipeline surveillance contract.
The controversy erupted after a statement by the UPU, the apex socio-cultural body of the Urhobo people, opposed the handling of pipeline surveillance operations within Urhobo territory by Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, a firm owned by High Chief (Dr.) Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo.
In its statement addressed to the National Security Adviser and published in the Saturday Vanguard of July 5, 2025, titled “Urhobo Reject Tantita Security: Demand for Qualified Indigenous Security Outfit/Contractor to Handle Oil Facilities Surveillance in Urhobo Land”, the UPU called for the removal of Tantita from Urhobo areas and demanded a local indigenous alternative.
However, this position has provoked sharp reactions from Urhobo youths, particularly on Facebook, where community members and youth leaders are engaging in heated debates. While a minority support the UPU’s right to represent Urhobo interests, the majority have condemned its stance as divisive and unrepresentative.
Omonire Ovwigho stated, “UPU is bigger than any group in Urhobo land. Whatsoever UPU says is the position of every Urhobo and not hungry children of yesterday.”
In contrast, Maverstine Ovedje remarked, “This UPU now is a personal union with personal interest… I now understand why some of our industrial sons and daughters abandon their Urhobo roots — because of UPU’s disunity and selfish interests.”
Sunny Basikoro added, “TANTITA has come to stay. Their incessant bellyaching can’t stop it.”
Others like Ofomukoro Lucky argued that the UPU should focus on lobbying for federal appointments rather than undermining community-based security arrangements:
“A true UPU should focus on how our people can be appointed into federal government parastatals like NNPC, not on surveillance jobs.”
Some also recalled past instances of ethnic bias in contract awards, further fueling distrust. Omokpe Augustine asked, “Should we remind ourselves how una fought Hon. Morris Ogheneochuko Idiovwa, an Urhobo son, just to favour another tribe over the surveillance job?”
Additionally, a coalition of Urhobo youth leaders, including Gen. Johnny Obas, Chief Godwin Okporoko, Cassidy Eni Christian, Power Enerho, Princewill Ruona Ujeyah, Ejenavi Austine Oteri, Etarighobe Thompson, Ukpobitere Kenneth, and Mr. Panama Victor — issued a joint press statement slamming the UPU leadership.
In their words: “We, the Concerned Urhobo Zeal from pipeline-bearing communities contracted under the Tantita Security Surveillance Structure, are compelled to respond with deep disappointment to the misguided, selfish, and utterly misleading press statement recently issued by Chief Ese Gam, the President-General of the Urhobo Progress Union (Worldwide).”
“That publication does not represent the collective voice or lived reality of Urhobo pipeline host communities. It is an embarrassing display of elitist detachment and a gross misrepresentation of the truth.”
As tensions rise, calls are mounting from security agencies and community leaders for dialogue to avert potential unrest.
Amid the ongoing accusations and counter-accusations, available data points to the effective performance of Tantita Security Services.
The company has been instrumental in curbing crude oil theft, engaging host communities, and restoring investor confidence in Nigeria’s oil sector.
According to The Guardian of January 17, 2024, citing the National Probity and Value for Nation-building Organisation (NPVNBO), Nigeria’s daily oil output increased from around 500,000 barrels of crude oil to about 2,000,000 barrels a day — a recovery attributed to Tantita’s surveillance efforts.
Punch newspaper of February 27, 25, quoting the Chief Executive of NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, reported that “The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has confirmed that Nigeria’s technical potential for crude oil production stands at 2.24 million barrels per day, as against the current production quota of 1.75mbpd.
“It also said the country’s crude oil production increased by 70 per cent from 2021 to date.”
Tantita’s collaborative work with the military, police, and other stakeholders has not only improved production but also helped secure vital oil assets, reduce environmental degradation, and promote peace in oil-bearing communities.
