Former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and chairman of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd. (TSSNL), Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, says Nigeria is in a dire strait and needs all support to cripple the activities of greedy saboteurs of the Nigerian oil and gas economy.
He made the plea on Saturday after being conferred with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Meritorious Award by the national union’s president, Chief Chris Isiguzo, at Oporoza, headquarters of the Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri, South West Local Government Area of Delta State.
The award, according to Isiguzo , was in recognition of Tompolo’s outstanding contributions to the security of oil and gas infrastructure by curtailing oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta.
Speaking further, Tompolo, who’s reputed not to have a Nigerian passport, in his modesty, disclosed that: “I don’t have any other place, except Nigeria. Nigeria is the only country I have, so we must all join hands to protect and move Nigeria forward.
“Our economy is in dire need of survival, so we cannot fold our hands and allow some people to sabotage the nation’s economy because of greed.”
Earlier in the ceremony that witnessed select journalists from the NUJ Delta State Council led by Comrade Churchill Oyowe, the NUJ national president, Chief Isiguzo, said the pen-pushers arrived at conferring the meritorious award on Tompolo at the last NUJ National Security Conference in Abuja after a meticulous deliberation on his activities and successes in tackling economic sabotage head-on.
He said Tompolo has set the pace for securing Nigeria from the throes of economic insecurity in the Niger Delta region, urging the media, other security operatives and agencies, as well as other Nigerians, to rally around him.
“Somebody had risen to the occasion and gathered an array of young men who have taken it upon themselves to help this country continue to survive as a peaceful nation, united and continuing to fend for its people.
“And that is the man who has, to a very large extent, substantially helped us address the issue of crude oil theft.
“That is one thing that has occupied our national life over time. But through his commitment, dedication, and diligence, Nigeria, as a country, had, to a very large extent, reduced the activities of men of the underworld who have consistently engaged in pilfering, taking our common patrimony for their own gains.
“NUJ, having assessed the activities of TSSNL, we decided that we must accord the necessary recognition to the man who carries the flag, who birthed this organisation, who has exceptionally distinguished himself, and who has been celebrated by Nigerians across all walks of life.
“NUJ is an institution that is distinguished; when we look at the different realms of governance, we have the First Estate of the Realm, the Second Estate of the Realm, and the Third Estate of the Realm, all talking about the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary.
“But there is a realm that Nigerians now look up to, and if this realm collapses, Nigeria will collapse. This realm is the oxygen of democratic governance; it is the reason Nigeria is still operating and why we are enjoying peace and harmony, and that is the media.
“Therefore, this important realm has come to the Oporoza Community in Gbaramatu Kingdom to honour a distinguished son of the Niger Delta, a general in his own right who has distinguished himself and ensures and maintains an appreciable level of internal security.
“We have come to confer on him the Internal Security Meritorious Award of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.
“In the course of the national security conference, only one award had been approved, and it is being conferred on Dr. Government Ekpemupolo,” Chief Isiguzo enthused.
He enjoined journalists to keep contributing their quota by sharing intelligence with security agencies and operatives in order to engender tranquilly, peace, harmony, and progress in the country.
Dignitaries at the colourful award ceremony that witnessed hospitality, a parade of TSSNL personnel, and dance entertainment by Ijaw women included the National Secretary of the NUJ, Comrade Shuaibu Liman, and other members of the national executive, as well as members of the Delta Online Publishers Forum (DOPF), who also inducted Tompolo into the Niger Delta Hall of Fame.