The huge albatross around the Nigerian economy as a result of the monumental challenge of the long-running crude oil theft may presently have been slowed down, courtesy of the effort of the Tompolo team.
This is courtesy of ‘The Tompolo strategy’, a rugged private guards security initiative that sees the ex-Niger-Delta militant, Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, along with his associates spread across the Niger Delta region, manning and executing pipeline surveillance measures and preventing oil theft.
Since the pipeline surveillance contract of N48billion was awarded to Tompolo, to ensure the protection of oil pipelines, crude oil production appears to be on the rise again and Nigeria now expects higher revenues.
When it seemed that all efforts to stop the oil theft, which had almost crippled the country’s economy, was becoming in vain, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company, (NNPCL), resorted to engaging a private security firm to protect the pipelines. The NNPCL Group Managing Director (GMD), Mele Kyari said the company engaged the firms to police the pipelines in collaboration with other security agencies.
According to sources, the present activities may be working well in favour of the country and is also likely to reduce the rate of recent economic deterioration.
Recently, the NLNG spokesperson, Andy Odeh, confirmed that some successes have been recorded in the volume of crude production after NNPC increased surveillance and the fight against oil thieves and vandals.
Now, due to the reinforced fight against oil thieves by security agencies appears to be gradually yielding results, as for the first time since July this year, Nigeria’s crude oil production rose above one million barrels per day.
Since the award of the contract to Tompolo, the NNPC has reportedly uncovered many illegal pipelines and arrested oil thieves. Industry observers believe that these are pointers to curbing of losses in revenues in Nigeria, and hoping that this development be effectively sustained.
However, many still wonder what magic will change the trend of things in the short to long term given the policies which analysts consider not good enough for a turn around. They think that of all of the trumpeted achievements of the government nevertheless, it is not fully assuring that Nigeria’s hope now lies on Team Tompolo’s ability to curb crude oil theft.
