By Sunday A. Onyewonsa 

When His Worship, Eshanekpe Israel Agimor speaks, the creeks listen. Popularly known as “Akpodoro”, the Head of the Association of Urhobo Mayoral Family Crown, AUMFC, and Mayor of Urhobo Land, carries the weight of two identities: an ex-militant leader who once knew the creeks as a theatre of conflict, and now a Urhobo Mayor pressing for peace through economic inclusion.

His latest call is directed at the Federal Government and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL. Akpodoro wants the operational scope of Tantita Security Services Nig. Ltd widened, the contract sum increased and the security surveillance net cast wider to accommodate “other genuine stakeholders in the Niger Delta project.”

Tantita, owned by ex-militant leader Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, currently handles pipeline surveillance on the western axis of Nigeria’s waterways and land assets. Since taking over, the firm has been credited with drastic cuts in crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism. But Akpodoro argues that the job is not yet done, and the model can be made stronger.

“The security of our pipelines is the security of Nigeria’s purse,” Akpodoro told this reporter. “If Tantita has recorded successes on the western flank, then wisdom demands we expand that success. Widen the operational area, increase the funding, and bring more credible stakeholders to the table. That is how you turn a contract into a national shield.”

His appeal comes at a time when Nigeria is desperate to ramp up crude production to meet OPEC quotas and fund the 2026 budget. Every barrel lost to theft is a hospital unbuilt, a road unpaved, a youth unemployed.

Nigeria still funds over 60% of its budget from oil revenue. Crude theft, once estimated at 200,000+ barrels per day, bled the nation of billions of dollars annually. Tantita’s intervention on the western corridor helped reverse that trend, pushing production back toward 1.7m bpd.

Akpodoro’s argument is simple math: more coverage = more barrels saved = more dollars for the federation account. “Widening Tantita’s operations means fewer leaks, fewer illegal connections, and more money for infrastructure, education, and health,” he said. “It is not about one company. It is about plugging holes in our national bucket.”

An increased contract sum, he contends, is not an expense but an investment. Better equipment, more gunboats, higher personnel welfare, and better intelligence all cost money. “You cannot buy national security on a discount,” the Urhobo Mayor quipped.

From Militancy To Monthly Salary 

The Niger Delta’s biggest export should be talent, not tension. For years, idle youth were recruited into bunkering and vandalism because legitimate options were scarce. Tantita’s model flipped that script by employing thousands of local youths as pipeline guards, intelligence gatherers, and marine operatives.

Akpodoro, who once led fighters in the creeks, understands the psychology. “A youth with a gunboat salary and a sense of purpose will not pick up arms against the state. Widening the scope means more jobs, more training, more youths taken off the street and put on payroll.”

That ripple effect is economic. Salaries get spent in local markets. Skills get transferred. Families get lifted. “This is how you demobilize militancy without firing a shot,” he added, stressing that, a secure pipeline corridor is a magnet for investment. Oil majors, modular refinery investors, and logistics firms all avoid zones tagged “high risk”. By expanding surveillance to more creeks and land assets, the region becomes bankable.

Akpodoro wants “other genuine stakeholders” — ex-militant leaders with genuine intentions and with good track records, community trusts, cooperatives, and indigenous security firms with verifiable track records — brought under a coordinated framework. “Inclusion kills suspicion. When communities feel ownership, they protect what is theirs,” he said. The result: more local contractors, more service businesses, and a Delta economy less dependent on handouts. 

Security, Sovereignty, and The Well-Being Of The Nation… Dr. Akpodoro argued that, pipeline protection is never just about pipes. Vandals who attack pipelines also traffic arms, drugs, and humans through the same waterways. A stronger, wider Tantita presence means a stronger navy of community eyes and ears.

Akpodoro frames it as layered security: “When you secure the oil, you secure the waterways. When you secure the waterways, you reduce kidnapping, sea piracy, and illegal bunkering camps. The nation sleeps better.”

For a country battling multiple security fronts, offloading maritime surveillance to a motivated, local force frees federal troops for other hotspots. It is security by partnership, not just policing.

 Economic Well-Being of the Nation 

At the heart of Akpodoro’s call is a belief that Nigeria’s well-being is tied to oilfield stability. Higher production means stronger naira, lower fuel import pressure, and more fiscal room for social programs.

“The man in Kano, the woman in Enugu, the student in Sokoto — they all benefit when crude gets to Bonny Terminal without being siphoned in the creeks,” he said. “This is not a Niger Delta issue. This is a Nigeria issue.”

His message to NNPCL and the Presidency is direct: double down on what works. Scale Tantita. Fund it properly. And build a coalition of credible Delta stakeholders so no community feels left out.

The Closing Word

Akpodoro knows the cost of conflict. He also knows the price of peace. As an ex-militant turned crown leader, his advocacy carries moral weight in the creeks where government memos often don’t reach.

“Give us wider operations, give us better funding, give us inclusion,” he said. “In return, Nigeria gets more oil, more jobs, more peace, and more prosperity. That is a deal even the skeptic cannot reject.”

As Nigeria chases energy security and economic recovery in 2026, Akpodoro’s feature-length argument lands like a flare over the Delta waters: widen the net, and the whole nation eats from the catch.

The Blueprint for Expansion:

1. Operational Gaps Akpodoro Wants Closed

Tantita’s western corridor success is clear. But the creeks don’t end at the border. Akpodoro points to 3 zones still vulnerable:  

1. Eastern Delta creeks: More illegal taps, fewer patrol boats. Losses here still drag national production down.

2. Shallow offshore lines: Small vessels bypass land surveillance. Requires marine drones + night vision gear.

3. Land assets & flow stations: Sabotage on land feeds the same black market. Needs community intel networks.

“Pipeline security is only as strong as its weakest 10km,” he said. “Widen the mandate so no gap becomes a loophole.”

2. Funding That Pays For Itself

Akpodoro rejects the ‘cost’ argument. His math: every extra ₦1b spent on surveillance returns ₦10b+ in saved crude. That means:  

Better equipment: Armored gunboats, satellite monitoring, real-time leak sensors.  

Better welfare: Insurance, hazard pay, training for 10,000+ new local hires.  

Better intel: Community tip lines, verified informants, data sharing with NNPCL and Navy.

“You don’t haggle with thieves while your house is burning,” he noted. “Fund the shield properly, and the budget thanks you.”

From Creeks to Classrooms – The Human Dividends…youths Off the Streets, Onto Payroll –  

Tantita’s current model employs thousands as guards, mechanics, medics, and boat captains. Akpodoro wants that scaled three times.

“A monthly salary does what bullets cannot,” he said. “It gives a young man dignity. He buys rice for his mother. He pays his sister’s school fees. He stops seeing vandalism as a career.”

Widening scope equals more training centers, more certifications, and more youths with transferable skills. Some will stay in security. Others will move to welding, logistics, marine engineering. 

Akpodoro further his argument saying, investors follow Stability stating that  

no modular refinery investor signs in a ‘red zone’. Akpodoro stressed that expanded surveillance turns the Delta from ‘risk’ to ‘opportunity’. 

“When pipelines are safe, investors come,” he said. “They build plants. They hire locally. They pay taxes. That’s how we move from dependence to production.”

“We don’t need 100 companies,” he added. “We need 10 credible ones working under one command. Unity, not chaos.”

National Impact and not regional politics

Akpodoro is careful to frame this beyond Urhoboland. When oil reaches terminals, every Nigerian feels it.  

Stronger naira. Less fuel scarcity. More money for hospitals, roads, schools…

“The fisherman in Ilaje, the trader in Onitsha, the farmer in Kaduna — your prosperity is tied to those pipes,” he said. “Protecting them is patriotism.”

To the powers that be in Abuja, Akpodoro in his final message is short: Act fast, act bold.  

1. Expand Tantita’s operational map before Q2 2026  

2. Review and increase the contract to match scope and inflation  

3. Create a Delta Stakeholders Security Council with NNPCL, Navy, and verified community leaders

“Mr. President, NNPCL GCEO, the creeks are listening,” Akpodoro concluded. “Widen the net. Let Nigeria eat from the catch. We are ready to guard what belongs to all of us.”

As Nigeria pushes for 2m bpd in 2026, Akpodoro’s call is simple: scale what works. Peace, payroll, and production can come from the same pipeline.

*Onyewonsa, publisher and media practitioner, writes from Abuja, FCT