The Isoko Renaissance Movement (IRM) has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to review the pipeline surveillance contract in the Niger Delta region and break it down so that all ethnic nationalities can man their points.

Speaking during a peaceful protest on Thursday in Abuja, Comr. Jezreel Enahoro, Convener of IRM, stressed the need for genuine Isoko sons and daughters to secure the Pipelines around Isoko communities.

Enahoro also urged the government to declare a state of emergency for infrastructural development and human capital development in Isoko land, and further called on the authorities to expedite the development of the Isoko Gas Turbine project to ensure an ample electricity supply in Isoko land.

He noted: “The IRM humbly request that the Federal Government award a fresh contract to a company of our choosing or that which the Stakeholders of Isoko region properly vet for surveillance of our crude oil pipelines and not those who are appendages of Tantita Security.

“The betrayal of Isoko must end. The call for justice must rise beyond whispers.”
The convener also called on the government to appoint Isoko sons and daughters into Federal Government Boards and Government parastatals.

“If our resources are good enough to sustain the nation, then our people are good enough to be recognised, represented, and rewarded. Isoko demands fairness. Isoko demands inclusion. Isoko demands its rightful place in the governance and development of the Niger Delta and Nigeria as a whole. Our silence will not last forever.

“We are here today, to draw the attention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the office of the National Security Adviser, and the National Assembly to the wanton underdevelopment indices of Isoko Nation, despite our sterling contributions to the Nigerian Economy

“Let me start by stating that Isoko Ethnic group is known to be very peaceful in comparison to other tribes within the Niger Delta Region and that attribute has now been taken as a sign of weakness even though it is an established fact that the first ever economic liberation movement of Niger Delta started in Isoko.

“Being the second-place crude oil was discovered in Nigeria, it is a well-established fact that 28 per cent of the entire oil resources in Nigeria run through the pipelines planted on Isoko land, and it is our perspective that Isoko Nation should be treated as critical stakeholders in the ‘Nigerian Question’.

“It is obvious that despite our sterling economic contribution and peaceful disposition, the development we see is a far cry from what should be our reality. There is no federal government presence in Isoko Land apart from police stations and INEC offices.

The Isoko ethnic nationality remains politically marginalised and economically neglected. From inception, Urhobo, Anioma, Itsekiri, and Ijaw have enjoyed numerous Federal Government Appointments, yet Isoko, which accounts for over 40 per cent of Delta’s oil production, has been met with silence.

“No Managing Director, no Executive Director, no Minister—only a long history of exclusion despite its vast contribution to the nation’s economy.
“The injustice runs deeper than political marginalisation. The consequences of oil exploration have left Isoko land devastated.

“Our once-fertile farmlands now lie barren, poisoned by unchecked oil spills. Lakes that once sustained generations have become toxic, killing aquatic life and depriving fishermen of their livelihoods.

“Gas flaring and environmental pollution have led to increased respiratory diseases, skin infections, depletion of life expectancy and overall poor health among our people. Food insecurity grows as farming and fishing—our ancestral trades—become impossible.

“Despite the wealth extracted from Isoko soil, the people remain impoverished, with little to no federal presence in terms of infrastructure, employment, or social welfare. Roads are left to deteriorate, schools remain underfunded, and healthcare is almost non-existent.

“Furthermore, as you are aware, sometime in August 2022 a contract for the surveillance of oil pipeline in the entire region was awarded to Mr. Government Ekpemupolo in Niger Delta, without due consultation of the stakeholders of the region on how it would affect all.

“A lot of groups across the country expressed reservations over the development. The pipeline surveillance contract under Tantita Security has become an avenue for economic and political control, and has led to dangerous schemes that have proven unsettling for our region. They have become overreaching.”