BY EDNA EMENI
AS 2025 draws to a close, National Coordinator, Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), Comrade Mulade Sheriff, today, attributed the relative and sustained peace in the Niger Delta Region to the Federal Government’s initiative to hand over the surveillance and protection of oil/gas pipelines to local security outfits, in collaboration with conventional security.
Mulade, who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The Pointer, said “this initiative has enhanced security in the region and I can authoritatively say that, if you travel along the creeks of the region’s water body, it’s very clear and safe; you can drink the water and fetch it to bathe with.”
“The implication of this is, the water body is gradually resuscitating itself. And if the Federal Government can sustain this for another twenty years, the fish and mangroves will be revived,” he added.
Mulade said TANTITA Securities and other security groups are doing very well to revive the region’s environment, adding that the issue of oil pipeline vandalisation and disruption of oil installations is now a thing of the past because of their tireless efforts to keep the region safe.
Going down memory lane, Comrade Mulade expressed gratitude to God for giving him the grace to survive the harsh environment in the course of fighting for a better and safer environment for the Niger Delta Region. “For me, the agitation for a sustainable Niger Delta environment is fundamental because of the continuous degradation of the environment as a result of oil exploration/exploitation and gas flaring that contaminated the ozone layer and the ecosystem,” he added.
He expressed regret that there was a time when the challenges of the region were heightened during the period of oil pipeline vandalism, so much so that it became a national issue.
Almost every day, he said, “we woke up to hear that pipelines were vandalised, but little did those involved know that they were destroying and polluting the environment.
“However, I’m happy that, with the decision of the Federal Government to engage local or indigenous security outfits for pipeline surveillance, all these are now things of the past.
“TANTITA Securities, under Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), and other security services deserve to be commended for doing a good job in the region,” he said.
