The Amalgamated Arewa Youth Groups (AARYG), an Umbrella body of 225 socio-cultural groups in the north has notified the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police command, about its planned protest against the Pipeline Surveillance Contract, awarded to ex- Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo Tompolo.
The contract was awarded by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to protect against pipeline vandalisation and stealing of crude oil.
In a letter dated August 22, 2022, and addressed to the FCT police commissioner, the group said it had resolved to staged the peaceful protest to the NNPC headquarters on Tuesday, against, “the annoying and inciting Pipeline Surveillance Contract awarded to Tompolo.”
The letter signed by Mock Kure, convener of the groups said, plans had been concluded to mobilised thousands of northern youth to march to the NNPC headquarters, “to press home our demands.”
The letter which was made available to journalists in Kaduna on Thursday, said the North has suffered so much from activities of bandits and terrorists, noting that even when a case was made to engage mercenaries to help tackle the security challenges, it was “rebuffed” by the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, who assured Nigerians that the Armed Forces are more than able to nip the situation in the bud.
“It is our considered view that surrendering the security of the economic valves and nerves of our country to Tompolo, is not in any way different from hiring mercenaries.
“The only difference is that our people can continue to suffer in the hands of terrorist, but crude oil which is considered more important than the blood of Northerners need the protection of mercenaries.
“If the Armed Forces have come to the sad conclusion that they can’t secure the Niger Delta and Nigeria at large, our group is ever ready to rally our youths to secure our communities too, if adequately supported legally and financially”, the letter read.
The group further frowned at what it termed, the continuous funding of the armnesty programme in the Niger Delta, even when it has failed to restore peace to the creeks.
“We are also worried that the federal government is still funding the Amnesty Programme, yet, peace has refused to return to the creeks. What difference will the N4 billion per month contract awarded to Tompolo make?
“In the course of our protest, we shall demand for the scrapping of either the Amnesty Office or the contract.
“In the alternative, our group will press for the award of similar security contract to youths of various geopolitical zones to enable them safeguards their regions since the federal government no longer have confidence in the country security agencies…” the group said.
John Shiklam
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