False Claims By UPU On Tantita: Niger Delta Groups Tackle Urhobo Union Over Call for Tompolo’s Exit
…Say Tantita is a National Asset, Not a Threat to Urhobo Interest
By. Wilson Macaulay;
WARRI — The Coalition of Niger Delta Civil Organizations, CNDCO, has faulted a recent press statement credited to a factional President of the Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, calling for the removal of Tantita Security Services from Urhobo territories, describing it as a “self-serving misrepresentation” of Urhobo and Niger Delta interest.
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The coalition, which comprises youth bodies, civil society advocates, pipeline host communities, and traditional institutions from Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Edo, and Akwa Ibom States, said the call was “misguided, divisive, and a threat to national security and economic progress.”
In a strongly worded statement made available to Daily independent Newspaper yesterday, the CNDCO expressed “deep disappointment and alarm” over the UPU’s stance, stressing that Tantita Security Services, under the leadership of High Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), has been instrumental in restoring sanity to Nigeria’s crude oil production landscape.
> “Tantita is not merely a private firm — it is a strategic national asset,” the coalition stated. “Since its engagement, oil theft has drastically reduced, production benchmarks have improved, and Nigeria’s economy is gradually recovering from years of sabotage and underperformance.”
Highlighting the success of Tantita’s operations, the group noted that the firm has achieved what several years of military and conventional security efforts failed to accomplish.
“Tantita’s community-based intelligence, deep-rooted presence in the creeks, and proactive surveillance systems have restored investor confidence and supported budgetary stability,” the coalition added.
“It has also provided thousands of direct and indirect jobs to Niger Delta youths, reducing militancy and crime.”
Reacting to the UPU’s statement, the CNDCO emphasized that the controversial call does not represent the collective voice of the Urhobo nation.
> “The UPU President who issued that statement does not speak for the broader Urhobo interest, especially those in oil-bearing communities who understand and appreciate Tantita’s work,” the statement said.
> “The UPU must rise above personal or political agendas and avoid being used to destabilize the region.”
‘We Stand with Tantita’
The coalition reaffirmed its solidarity with Tantita Security Services, stating:
1. We reject in totality the call for the withdrawal of Tantita from Urhobo or any Niger Delta territory.
2. We advise political actors against using ethnic platforms to advance private grievances at the expense of regional security and national progress.
3. We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) to continue supporting Tantita and expand its mandate across other critical oil corridors.
> “Tantita represents a tested and proven model of indigenous participation in national security and resource protection,” the coalition concluded.
