By Godwin Chukwumaechi
The Niger Delta Progressive Alliance (NDPA) has urged the Federal Government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to ignore the call by the Ijaw People’s Development Initiative (IPDI), to terminate the repair contract for the Trans-Forcados pipeine awarded to Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL).
The group urged the Federal Government to stand firm against any pressure, motivated by ethnic bias, to revoke contracts awarded on the basis of due process, technical capacity and strategic fit.
A press statement signed by Amb Nse Victor Udoh, President General, and Felix Ejenavi (General Beni), Delta State Coordinator of the Niger Delta Progressive Alliance (NDPA), described as inflammatory the statement credited to the Ijaw People’s Development Initiative (IPDI), in which they called for the abrupt revocation of a pipeline repair contract duly awarded to Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL).
NPDA argued that PINL is a professionally accredited infrastructure firm associated with His Majesty, the revered Olu of Warri, for essential repair works on the Trans-Forcados pipeline in Warri South-West Local Government Area, Delta State and has all the required capacity and competence to execute the contract.
Professional Merit and Institutional Legitimacy
“PINL is a registered and qualified infrastructure company with verifiable record of delivering high-risk oil and gas projects across multiple states in the Niger Delta”, the group said adding, “It is a company with deep roots spanning some of the most challenging terrains in the oil-producing corridors of this country.
“PINL was not selected for this contract because of name or title or as an echo of tribal favour, but because of its quiet pedigree defined by access to technical equipment, proven capacity, operational experience, and adherence to global standards”.
The group added that the company’s contributions extend beyond repairs, to securing the Eastern Corridor, which has led to a sharp reduction in pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft, contributing significantly to increased national oil production and revenue.
These gains have had positive ripple effects as it has bolstered national crude production and the economy generally, it has improved livelihoods, stabilized the oil market, and reduced environmental degradation caused by illegal tapping, they said.
In addition, PINL has meaningfully engaged local communities through the employment of over 30,000 Niger Deltans under its surveillance contract. It has also invested in education and empowerment through skills acquisition programmes and scholarship initiatives for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Environmental Stewardship and Moral Responsibility: When Protest Endangers Paradise
The NPDA noted that those opposing the pipeline repair seemed to quickly forget the grave environmental risk their protest represented explaining that crude oil spill, should it occur, does not respect tribe or boundary. It poisons the soil, erodes farmland, destroys the water and aquatic life, and jeopardizes the health and future of entire generations. “To stand in the way of a swift and competent repair effort is to knowingly extend an invitation to disaster into one’s community. It is a monumental disservice not only to the people but to their children and the ecosystems on which they depend”.
Of Ijaw and Itsekiri Relations: Toward a Higher Horizon
According to the NPDA, the Niger Delta is a synchrony of proud tribes consisting of Ijaw, Itsekiri, Urhobo, Isoko, Ogoni, and others and to invoke ancient divisions as a pretext for contemporary disruption is to re-open wounds that development has barely begun to suture. We therefore call on IPDI and other regional groups to reject the politics of agitation and embrace collaboration that champions common interests and collective advancement. Dialogue, transparency, and cooperation remain our best paths forward. Let us stop building fences where we should be laying foundations.
A Call to the Federal Government and the NNPCL
Udoh, President General, of NPDA said Governance must be guided by principle, not provocation. As such, contracts should not be revoked in response to reactionary pressure. To do so would set a calamitous precedent, eroding trust, emboldening parochial interests, and set a hazardous precedent that risks plunging the Niger Delta back into unrest.
Furthermore, security agencies must remain vigilant in guarding against attempts to disrupt critical infrastructure under any guise and to ensure that peace is preserved across all operational zones.
On the Recklessness of Threatened Disruption
“We find it deeply regrettable that certain groups are threatening to inflame young people toward the obstruction of critical infrastructure. Such incitement is not activism; it is an invitation to anarchy” he stated
He stressed that the Niger Delta deserved better than a future written in the language of sabotage. “We categorically condemn any of such that may arise in the name of tribal defence. For such actions, if allowed to persist, will not only endanger the region’s economy but could invite security interventions with far-reaching consequences”.
“As such, to attempt to demonize and reframe this technical decision as a tribal affront is intellectually dishonest, short-sighted and counterproductive. If one must oppose such an enterprise, let it be on evidence of failure, not on the grounds of discomfort. It is thus imperative that we rise above this reflex and collectively reject the idea that development in this region must always be filtered through the lens of identity politics. Let merit and excellence breathe again. Our people deserve nothing less”, Udoh stated.
