NIGERIA’S OIL RECOVERY : TANTITA, TOMPOLO AND THE TRIUMPH OF COLLECTIVE RESOLVE
By Mr. Peter Omoh Dunia
Nigeria’s recent commendation by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) for meeting its Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) crude oil production quota for three consecutive months is more than an encouraging statistic.
It is compelling evidence of what our country can achieve when government, security agencies, host communities and patriotic private-sector partners work together in the national interest.
For those who have closely followed the work of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), this achievement has particular significance.
When Tantita was engaged in 2022 to support the protection of Nigeria’s critical oil and gas infrastructure, the industry was confronting one of the gravest crises in its history.
Crude oil theft, illegal bunkering, pipeline vandalism and widespread sabotage had severely undermined production, deprived the country of badly needed revenue and inflicted enormous environmental damage on oil-producing communities.
Nigeria’s crude oil output had fallen to alarming levels. Illegal connections proliferated along pipelines and other critical infrastructure, while organised oil theft appeared increasingly audacious. Billions of dollars in potential national revenue were being lost.
The Niger Delta itself was paying an even more painful price.
Rivers and creeks were polluted by crude oil and illegal refining activities; farmlands and fishing grounds were damaged; and many communities lived in the shadow of environmental degradation and the soot generated by makeshift refineries.
It was against this difficult backdrop that Tantita entered the field with a clear mandate: to support the statutory security agencies in protecting the nation’s critical oil assets and to help restore confidence in the Niger Delta’s operating environment.
Under the leadership and inspiration of High Chief (Dr.) Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, the Ibe-Ebidouwei of Ijaw Nation, Tantita brought to the task something especially valuable: intimate knowledge of the terrain, community intelligence and an extensive grassroots network.
This was never a job that Tantita – or any single organisation – could accomplish alone.
The recorded progress pertains to a broad national security and industry partnership.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), under the leadership of its Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Bayo Ojulari, has provided important institutional leadership and coordination for the execution of the mandate involving Tantita, statutory security agencies and other stakeholders in the campaign against crude oil theft.
Yet, the difference since 2022 is difficult to ignore.
From the dark days when production fell to alarming levels, Nigeria has steadily recovered significant volumes of crude oil.
Pipelines, once routinely breached, now receive greater surveillance.
Illegal connections have been discovered and dismantled. Illegal refining sites have been disrupted, and the operating environment has improved considerably.
The benefits have travelled far beyond the creeks of the Niger Delta.
They are reflected in government revenues, foreign-exchange earnings, investor confidence and the wider national economy.
That is why Nigeria consistently meeting its OPEC production allocation is not merely an oil-industry story. It is a Nigerian economic recovery story.
According to NEITI’s July 2026 reporting, Nigeria’s crude oil production averaged about 1.505 million barrels per day, with condensate adding approximately 170,000 barrels per day.
The report marked the third consecutive month in which Nigeria met or exceeded its 1.5 million barrels-per-day OPEC allocation, following improved production figures in May and June.
Significantly, among the factors identified as driving this recovery were improved pipeline security and reduced oil theft.
That should matter to every Nigerian because every barrel recovered from thieves and vandals represents potential revenue for national development.
It is also important to acknowledge the wider security architecture that has made this progress possible.
The National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, deserves commendation for strengthening intelligence-driven and inter-agency coordination.
His leadership has helped create a framework in which the various agencies and stakeholders involved in protecting Nigeria’s strategic assets can work with greater coherence and common purpose.
The contribution of the Armed Forces and other security agencies must similarly be recognised.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu; the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas; the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke; the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi; the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force, especially under the leadership of IGP Olatunji Disu; and the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, represent institutions whose personnel continue to play indispensable roles in the fight against oil theft and the protection of Nigeria’s critical national assets.
This is precisely why the achievement should be viewed as a triumph of collective resolve.
Unfortunately, success can sometimes breed resentment.
I therefore appeal especially to our brothers and sisters in the Niger Delta: let us put an end to campaigns of calumny and the destructive “bring-him-down” syndrome.
There must always be room for legitimate criticism, scrutiny and accountability.
Tantita does not claim perfection, nor should any organisation entrusted with a public responsibility be above scrutiny. But criticism must be constructive.
Disagreement should never be an excuse to destroy what is working or to undermine individuals and institutions whose efforts produce measurable benefits for our communities and our country.
Tompolo’s greatest strength has always been his deep understanding of the Niger Delta—its waterways, its people, its grievances, its complexities and its enormous potential.
Today, that knowledge is being deployed in defence of an asset on which the Nigerian economy substantially depends.
We therefore call on the Federal Government, NNPCL, security agencies, traditional rulers, community leaders, youths and other stakeholders, particularly across the Niger Delta, to continue to support and encourage Tantita and Tompolo.
Protecting Nigeria’s oil infrastructure must rise above personal rivalries, politics and sectional interests.
The work is far from finished. Every additional barrel protected from theft means additional resources to support roads, schools, hospitals, and other national priorities.
Every pipeline secured strengthens investor confidence.
Every illegal connection dismantled protects national revenue.
And every young Niger Deltan persuaded that protecting national assets offers a better future than vandalising them represents another victory for peace and sustainable development in the region.
Nigeria must learn to recognise and celebrate results.
If national honours are intended to recognise exceptional service with demonstrable impact on the country, then the transformation witnessed in the security of Nigeria’s oil infrastructure since 2022 presents a compelling case.
Tompolo—and, through him, the men and women of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited—deserve national recognition and honour.
Such recognition would not merely honour one man or one company.
It would acknowledge thousands of ordinary Niger Deltans who are demonstrating every day that the people of the region can be trusted as guardians of the resources beneath their soil and waterways—resources that sustain our commonwealth.
Finally, I commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the confidence his administration has continued to repose in High Chief (Dr.) Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo and Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited as an important part of the collaborative security architecture for protecting Nigeria’s oil and gas assets in the Niger Delta.
The gains now being recorded show what is possible when political leadership, statutory security institutions, the national oil company, private security partners and host communities pull in the same direction.
Nigeria’s oil recovery is still a work in progress.
But three consecutive months of meeting the OPEC production allocation provide something the country has badly needed: evidence that the tide can turn.
The challenge now is not merely to sustain the recovery.
It is to build on it.
And in that continuing national assignment, Tantita, Tompolo, our security agencies, the NNPCL and the communities of the Niger Delta deserve our support—not campaigns designed to pull them down.
*Mr. Peter Omoh Dunia (Peter Black), Chairman, Oceanwave Group, writes from Ogbona Community, Etsako Central Local Government Area of Edo State.*
(vitalnewsngr.com)
