Niger Delta: Fresh crisis brews over multi billion naira pipeline surveillance deal

Fresh crisis is brewing over pipeline surveillance structure in the Niger Delta.

A group, Niger-Delta Stakeholders Forum, has decried the recent parliamentary roundtable on pipeline security surveillance organised by the National Assembly as a jamboree and lacking transparency.

It added that the roundtable exposed the deep structural weaknesses that have security implications within the current surveillance framework.

It said the event was stage-managed to cover up the failures and questionable activities surrounding the current pipeline surveillance contract system.

In a statement issued by the Secretary-General, Dr. Alaye Theophilus, the group demanded for the dismantling of the current pipeline surveillance structure.

The statement reads in part: “The Niger Delta Stakeholders Forum (NDSF) has reviewed the proceedings of the Parliamentary Roundtable on Pipeline Security and the Battle Against Crude Oil Theft held at the House of Representatives Old Chamber Hall on 8 April 2026.

“Rather than providing clarity on the effectiveness of Nigeria’s pipeline surveillance architecture, 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.

“The roundtable exposed deep structural weaknesses, a lack of transparency, and troubling national security implications within the current surveillance framework.

“The Forum therefore reiterates its position that the existing pipeline surveillance contract framework is fundamentally flawed, non-performing, and must be dismantled and replaced with a transparent, decentralized, and accountable system.”

The group accused the National Assembly of failure to demand full operational reports from all surveillance contractors within the system.

It said while Tantita Security Services Limited was repeatedly referenced during the session, no effort was made to demand performance reports from other contractors, including Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited 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.

“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 legitimize a failing system.”

It equally said the organizers’ claim that they engaged stakeholders and invited them to the event was false.

According to the group, no petitioner was directly invited but rather they circulated 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. We therefore challenge the National Assembly to provide verifiable evidence of direct invitations issued to petitioners and stakeholders who have formally raised concerns about the surveillance system. Anything short of this confirms that the process was deliberately designed to exclude critical voices and avoid accountability.”