THE GUARDIAN

Over 10,000 Host Communities of Nigeria Oil and Gas (HOSTCON) pipelines surveillance cadets trained on intensive surveillance have accused the Federal Government of neglect and are poised for a mass protest in the Niger Delta region.The aggrieved cadets explained that the project, which was supported by the European Union (EU) and the Federal Government, through the ministries of Niger Delta Affairs and Petroleum Resources and the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), engaged the Mike Emuh-led HOSCON to train them on community policing to guide pipelines.

They said government’s was nonchalance about their plight was a breach of the peace accord with militant leaders and ex-agitators in the Niger Delta region, insisting that it could jeopardise the relative peace and stability in the Niger Delta Region and the oil producing states.

Director, Media and Publicity of HOSCON, Monday Whiskey, who confirmed the planned protest said, “The oil-producing communities keyed into the proposed pipeline security training to help the Federal Government achieve peace in the Niger Delta region.

“It was designed as a new model of securing pipelines and other critical national assets that were been threatened by crude oil thieves across the region. “The model was designed in such a way that each oil producing community will protect its oil facilities in their domains thereby creating employment and safeguarding oil installations.

“It is painful and discouraging that over two years after the Emuh-led national leadership of HOSCON spent resources to ensure that an enabling environment was created for peace, the Federal Government seem to have jettisoned the programme, thereby creating creditability problems for HOSCON and those who supported the programme.”He insisted that the Federal Government should speak up because HOSCON’s efforts to promote peace and support Federal Government’s peace moves should not be used against us.

He added that HOSCON has done everything possible to promote sustainable peace in the Niger Delta region, saying, ”We deserve commendation and not this current attitude of government”

A HOSCON source said, “The benefiting states for the project and number of cadets, are Akwa Ibom (1,000 trainees), Delta (2,000), Rivers (1000), Bayelsa (700) and Edo (1,000). Others are Ondo, Imo and Abia to present 500 each, while Cross River had 900, Anambra 400 and Lagos 700, while non-oil producing states are Enugu 400, while Osun contributed 400, among others.

The concerned stakeholder who craved anonimity, added that other states who were yet to undergo training before the program “Were reportedly stopped, with no explanation were Oyo, Ogun, Kogi, Kwara, Bauchi, Plateau, Kaduna, Benue, Gombe and Borno.