Nigeria’s commendation by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) for meeting its OPEC crude oil production quota for three consecutive months is no mere statistic. It is compelling evidence of what collective national resolve can achieve when government, security agencies, host communities, and patriotic private-sector partners unite in the national interest.
For those who have followed the work of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), this achievement holds particular significance.
When Tantita was engaged in 2022 to help protect Nigeria’s critical oil and gas infrastructure, the industry was mired in crisis. Crude oil theft, illegal bunkering, pipeline vandalism, and widespread sabotage had crippled production, deprived the nation of vital revenue, and inflicted catastrophic environmental damage on oil-producing communities.
Illegal connections proliferated along pipelines, organised theft syndicates grew bolder, and billions of dollars in potential national revenue were being lost. The Niger Delta paid an even steeper price—rivers and creeks polluted, farmlands and fishing grounds destroyed, and communities shrouded in soot from makeshift refineries.
It was against this grim backdrop that Tantita entered the field with a clear mandate: to support statutory security agencies in protecting the nation’s oil assets and restoring confidence in the Niger Delta’s operating environment.
Under the leadership of High Chief (Dr.) Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, Tantita brought to the task something invaluable—intimate knowledge of the terrain, community intelligence, and an extensive grassroots network . This was never a job any single organisation could accomplish alone, and the progress recorded reflects a broad national security and industry partnership.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), under Group Chief Executive Officer Mr. Bayo Ojulari, has provided essential institutional leadership and coordination, working alongside Tantita, statutory security agencies, and other stakeholders in the campaign against oil theft.
Yet the transformation since 2022 is unmistakable. From production nadirs, Nigeria has steadily recovered significant crude volumes. Pipelines, once routinely breached, now receive greater surveillance. Illegal connections have been discovered and dismantled, refining sites disrupted, and the operating environment markedly improved.
These benefits extend far beyond the creeks—they are reflected in government revenues, foreign-exchange earnings, investor confidence, and the broader economy. This is why Nigeria meeting its OPEC 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 approximately 1.505 million barrels per day, with condensate adding about 170,000 barrels daily—the third consecutive month meeting the 1.5 million bpd OPEC allocation, following improved figures in May and June.
Significantly, improved pipeline security and reduced oil theft were identified as key drivers of this recovery. Every barrel recovered represents potential revenue for national development.
It is also important to acknowledge the wider security architecture enabling this progress. National Security Adviser Malam Nuhu Ribadu deserves commendation for strengthening intelligence-driven inter-agency coordination, creating a framework in which various stakeholders can operate with greater coherence and common purpose.
The Armed Forces and other security agencies—under the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas; Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke; the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi; the Nigeria Police Force, under IGP Olatunji Disu; and the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi—continue to play indispensable roles in this fight.
This achievement should be viewed as a triumph of collective resolve.
Success, however, can breed resentment. I appeal especially to our brothers and sisters in the Niger Delta: let us end campaigns of calumny and the destructive “bring-him-down” syndrome. There must always be room for legitimate scrutiny and accountability—Tantita claims no perfection—but criticism must be constructive. Disagreement should never be an excuse to destroy what is working or undermine those whose efforts yield measurable benefits for our communities and country.
Tompolo’s greatest strength has always been his deep understanding of the Niger Delta—its waterways, people, grievances, complexities, and enormous potential. Today, that knowledge is deployed in defence of an asset on which the Nigerian economy substantially depends.
We call on the Federal Government, NNPCL, security agencies, traditional rulers, community leaders, youths, and stakeholders across the Niger Delta to continue supporting and encouraging Tantita and Tompolo. Protecting Nigeria’s oil infrastructure must transcend personal rivalries, politics, and sectional interests.
The work is far from finished. Every additional barrel protected from theft means more resources for 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.
Nigeria must learn to recognise and celebrate results. If national honours are intended to recognise exceptional service with demonstrable national impact, the transformation witnessed in oil infrastructure security 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 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 continues to repose in High Chief (Dr.) Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo and Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited as integral parts of the collaborative security architecture for protecting Nigeria’s oil and gas assets in the Niger Delta.
The gains recorded demonstrate 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 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 but to build on it. 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.
