Group Faults Lawmakers’ Position on Pipeline Surveillance Contracts

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Niger Delta Stakeholders Forum (NDSF) has criticised the National Assembly for its alleged negligence on the risk of not supporting decentralisation of pipeline surveillance contracts in the Niger Delta region.

The group made the criticism why reviewing the proceedings of the Parliamentary Roundtable on Pipeline Security and the Battle Against Crude Oil Theft, held on April 8, 2026, in Abuja.

Speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the group said rather than providing clarity on the effectiveness of Nigeria’s pipeline surveillance archi-tecture, “what transpired at the National Assembly was a mere jamboree, stage-managed to deceive the general public and to cover up the failures and questionable activities surrounding the current surveillance system.”

Led by its Publicity Secretary, Nicholas Firitoru, the forum said the roundtable exposed deep structural weaknesses, a lack of transparency, and troubling national security implications within the current surveillance framework. The Forum, therefore, reiterated its position that the existing pipeline surveillance contract framework is fundamentally flawed, non-performing, and must be dismantled and replaced with a transparent, decentralised, and accountable system.

The group regretted that: “The most disturbing aspect of the roundtable was the National Assembly’s failure to demand full operational reports from all surveillance contractors currently operating within the system.

“While Tantita Security Services was repeatedly referenced during the session, no effort was made to demand performance reports from other contractors operating within the same surveillance framework, including Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL) and Maton Energy.

If the objective of the engagement was to evaluate the effectiveness of Nigeria’s pipeline surveillance architecture, then a credible process would require full disclosure of the operational mandates including well-head surveillance contracts, performance metrics, and accountability structures of all contractors involved.”

They stated that the National Assembly’s refusal or inability to demand such information only reinforces widespread public suspicion that the current surveillance structure lacks transparency and may primarily serve private interests rather than national interests.

“This further validates our position that what took place was not a genuine oversight exercise, but a carefully orchestrated attempt to legitimise a failing system,” the group said.

Firitoru said the claim by the organisers of the roundtable that petitioners and stakeholders were invited to the session was false and misleading.

“No petitioner was directly invited. What was fraudulently circulated was a poorly prepared, generic flyer, not addressed to any individual or group, and released on social media just hours before the sitting. This cannot, by any standard, qualify as an official legislative invitation,” he added.

They, therefore, challenged the National Assembly to provide verifiable evidence of direct invitations issued to petitioners and stakeholders who have formally raised concerns about the surveillance system.

The forum stating further that the session held at the National Assembly was a roundtable discussion and not a formal legislative public hearing, insisted that: “A roundtable cannot substitute for the transparency and scrutiny required in a proper public hearing where petitions are examined and stakeholders present evidence openly.”

The group, however, demanded the “immediate dismantling of the current pipeline surveillance contract structure. Establishment of a transparent and decentralised surveillance framework. State-coordinated surveillance operations involving credible Niger Delta stakeholders, and formal public hearing by the National Assembly to examine all surveillance contracts.”

They added that decentralised system would not weaken production, but expand monitoring coverage, improve intelligence gathering, strengthen community cooperation, and enable Nigeria to sustainably exceed crude oil production levels of two million barrels per day.