Oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta have urged President Bola Tinubu to decentralise pipeline surveillance contracts, arguing that host communities must play a greater role in safeguarding Nigeria’s oil infrastructure.
The call was made under the banner of the Niger Delta Roundtable following an emergency meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
In a statement signed by Dr Taro Theophilus, the group said decentralisation would allow states and local communities most affected by oil exploration to directly protect national assets.
Stakeholders pointed to official figures showing Nigeria lost 93.74 million barrels of crude oil and condensate production in the first eight months of 2025, falling short of budget targets.
At an average Bonny Light price of $73.06 per barrel, the losses equated to $6.85bn in unrealised revenue.
They stated that despite the introduction of surveillance contracts, illegal bunkering and vandalism remained widespread.
Nigeria’s 2025 budget assumed daily production of 2.06 million barrels, yet actual output averaged 1.673 million barrels per day, leaving a shortfall of around 390,000 barrels daily.
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The statement also revealed fiscal consequences, citing a combined oil revenue gap of N941.23bn in July and August 2025, and a cumulative shortfall of N18.61tn over seven months.
According to the group, discoveries of illegal refining operations inland, including in Abia State in early 2026, showed that criminal networks had adapted to the current surveillance model.
They argued that a single contractor overseeing the entire pipeline network lacked competitive pressure and enforceable performance standards.
“The Niger Delta spans multiple states and communities with local knowledge that could enhance surveillance if responsibilities were distributed,” the statement read.
The group added that decentralisation would spread economic benefits across the region and strengthen accountability.
It urged the Federal Government to introduce a transparent, competitive process with clear performance benchmarks and penalties for underperformance.
They stressed that empowering communities to protect pipelines could improve revenue flows to the federation account.
“President Tinubu has 37 billion barrels of proven reserves beneath the Niger Delta and an ambition to produce three million barrels per day by 2030. The Niger Delta’s communities are not asking to inherit a problem. They are offering to solve one,” the statement concluded.