Pipeline Surveillance Contract: Niger Delta Youth Calls for Cancellation

Niger Delta youths under the auspices of Niger Delta Youth Congress (NDYC), yesterday, called for the cancellation of the pipeline surveillance contract in the region.

This was contained in a statement signed by the National Coordinator, NDYC, Comrade Israel Uwejeyan, where he also urged the incoming administration to revisit the contract and act appropriately to avert any agitation that might affect the oil and gas industry.

Uwejeyan said: “The Niger Delta youths are peace loving and are ready to work with any government democratically elected. And we promise our support for policies and programmes that will benefit the Niger Delta region.

“With the recent uproar caused by the award of pipeline surveillance contract to some companies by the present administration of President Goodluck Jonasthan, there have been various agitations by those youth in the region who felt sidelined in the process.

“It is imperative to make mention of the so-called pipeline surveillance contract awarded to youth in oil bearing and hosting communities in the Niger Delta should be cancelled

“We are saying this because we are no longer comfortable with the recent attacks carried by some aggrieved youths in Delta state to the extent of bombing major gas pipelines in the state, which is owned by the federal government, and to the extent in April 2015 a major high pressure gas pipeline was blown up at Ighwrenene Community in Delta State. Another one was blown up again in Ughelli North and South Local Government Areas of the same state.

He further stated that the government should engage the services of the security agents with the money they want to spend on few individuals that will not be of benefit to the oil bearing communities.

“The government should use the billions they want to pay some few persons to engage security agencies with appropriate security technology and intelligence gathering mechanisms put in place to protect the pipeline facilities and companies operating in the region. This will be better than to allow few youths in the region to collect the money and fail to perform. This we believe will stop the rising agitations in the region,” Uwejeyan added.