Pipeline Contract Row: BSM Threatens Shutdown, Demands Review of Surveillance Deal

Tension is mounting in Edo State as the Benin Solidarity Movement (BSM) has threatened to shut down operations at the NPDC office in Benin City over what it described as the exclusion of host communities from oil facility protection arrangements.

The group accused NNPC Limited of sidelining indigenous stakeholders in the award of pipeline surveillance contracts and warned that continued neglect of oil-bearing communities could trigger unrest.

In a statement jointly signed by its President, Elder Comrade Curtis Eghosa Ugbo, and General Secretary, Ms Esohe Adun, BSM demanded an urgent review of the surveillance framework and called for the creation of a Special Task Force dominated by indigenes of host communities to work alongside security agencies.

According to the group, those who live in and own the oil-producing communities possess deeper knowledge of the terrain and local security realities than individuals brought in from outside the state. It described the practice of appointing non-indigenes to oversee pipeline surveillance in Edo communities as unjust and provocative.

“Our concern is that if the issue is not given fair treatment in record time, it may snowball into a fiery bush fire that may become too cumbersome to handle,” the statement read, warning that a mass protest would be mobilised if the Federal Government fails to address the matter.

The agitation follows the controversial award of a multi-billion-naira pipeline surveillance contract to former Niger Delta militant leader, Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo — a development that has ignited sharp exchanges between northern and southern groups.

BSM said the heated cross-regional reactions were unhealthy and risked deepening national divisions. It cautioned northern youths against inflammatory rhetoric, insisting that the Niger Delta, as the country’s oil-producing backbone, has long endured marginalisation despite sustaining the national economy.

To douse tension, the group proposed that members of host communities be formally integrated into pipeline protection operations and be paid reasonable stipends to support logistics and ensure accountability.

In a surprising move, BSM also advised Tompolo to decline the contract, describing it as a possible “Greek gift” allegedly capable of creating discord within the Niger Delta.

The group concluded by urging youths across the country not to allow the controversy to fracture their unity, stressing that prompt government intervention remains key to preventing the dispute from escalating into a broader crisis.