The Ogoni Oil and Gas Host Communities Youths Association has thrown its weight behind growing calls across the Niger Delta for the decentralisation of pipeline surveillance contracts to host communities.

Addressing journalists on Saturday in Bori, Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, the group said communities where critical oil infrastructure is located must be directly involved in securing them.

Speaking on behalf of the President General, Teddy Gianen, the National Secretary of the Association, Nobel Nwolu, said that host communities were best positioned to protect pipeline assets.

“Host communities remain the most effective custodians of pipeline infrastructure,” he said on Saturday.

He highlighted the strategic importance of Ogoniland, noting that major oil facilities are located within the area.

“Ogoni hosts critical national assets such as the 24-inch and 28-inch Trans-Niger Delta pipelines, the 30-inch crude delivery line operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited/PPMC, and one of the largest manifolds in West Africa, the Bomu Manifold located in K-Dere,” he stated.

The group raised concerns over the current structure of pipeline surveillance contracts, describing it as exclusionary.

“Pipeline surveillance contracts should not be used as tools for political patronage or selective reward. Rather, they must be structured as community-driven initiatives that promote transparency and create employment opportunities for youths,” he added.

The association maintained that security efforts alone cannot curb pipeline vandalism without addressing underlying socio-economic issues.

They called on the Federal Government to urgently review the framework guiding pipeline surveillance in the region.

“We therefore call on the Federal Government under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently decentralise pipeline surveillance contracts in a fair, transparent, and inclusive manner,” Nwolu said.

The group insisted that host communities must not be sidelined in decisions affecting resources within their environment.

“Host communities must not be treated as spectators in matters that directly affect their land, their livelihoods, and national assets located within their territories,” he added.