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… Says Mandate is Policing for NNPC
By Amos Odhe, Yenagoa
The Chief Executive Officer of Wis-South Security Ltd, Chief Wisdom Joseph Owo, has urged the sole representative of the Olu of Warri, His Royal Majesty Ogiame Atuwase lll, Prince Collins Oritsetimeyin Edema, to cross-check facts relating to the ongoing cadets’ training embark on by the security company at the Petroleum Training Institute in Effurun-Warri, Delta State.
He made this known while reacting to a statement from the ‘Office of the Sole Representative of His Majesty Ogiame Atuwase lll and Liaison Partner to NNPCL,’ dated September 9 2024 and signed by Prince Collins Oritsetimeyin Edema, drawing attention to “an alleged pipeline surveillance training being done for NNPCL by Wis-South Security Ltd at Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) Effurun”.
Chief Wisdom Joseph Owo, who is the chairman of Private Security Guards in the Niger Delta and also chairman of Niger Delta People in Abuja, said Wis-South Security Ltd is a category “A” licensed security outfit, fully registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and started operations in 2016 with its national headquarters along Azikoro Road, Opposite Ekeki Divisional Police Headquarters in Yenagoa.
He said the outfit functions as Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited police with the mandate to monitor its facilities, and joint venture partner installations, gather information on the activities of security agents and other multi-national companies in the oil and gas industry and avail the management of NNPCL Ltd of such for informed decision making to protect critical national assets.
Chief Owo, who hails from Diebu, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, said Wis-South Security Ltd deals directly with NNPCL Ltd and also provides security for the NNPCL Ltd Tower in Abuja.
Also throwing light on the operations of Wis-Security Ltd, the Director of Operations, Chief Apaingolo Womotimi Gabriel, noted that the ongoing training of cadets cuts across the nine states, irrespective of tribe, that make up the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), in a bid to increase the staff strength of the security outfit to cope with the scope of its mandate as NNPCL Ltd official police, and to adequately deploy their personnel to monitor, effectively patrol and secure oil facilities in the Niger Delta, not an attempt to take over pipeline surveillance contracts from other security companies or defraud people
He said NNPCL Ltd has written to the Inspector General of Police and all the service chiefs of the Nigerian Armed Forces on the mandate of Wis- South Security Ltd, and that the company has been enjoying a robust working relationship with the military, police, Navy and NSCDC to secure NNPCL Ltd facilities.
Chief Womotimi Gabriel Apaingolo who is also the Commandant, Civilian Joint Taskforce, Bayelsa State Command said that the license granted to Wis-South Security Ltd is not oil and gas, adding that the company is not into pipeline surveillance contracts as suggested in the statement by the sole representative of the Olu of Warri.
He said Wis-South Security Ltd respects and hold in high esteem traditional rulers in the country, and therefore wishes to state unequivocally that as a security outfit, they are not competing with any company operating in the petro-maritime industry. He urged anyone in doubt of its mandate to visit Wis-South Security Ltd website or contact NNPCL for further clarification.
The director, Operations said that the training of cadets is supervised by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) across the nine oil producing states
The legal consultant of Wis-South Security Ltd, Barr. E.J Zikenah said the company is a frontline security outfit to NNPCL Ltd, which carry out covert operations by providing intelligence reports to protect the entire oil and gas infrastructure, and is fully registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission with Board of Directors.
Barr.Zikenah noted that security component is an important aspect of the Petroleum Industry Act, and that part of Wis-South Security’s job is to identity and arrest companies operating without proper license.
The legal luminary said that Wis-South Security Ltd has employed over twenty thousand youths from the nine oil producing states who were trained by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), in its Department of Private Guards.
He stressed that NNPCL Ltd has widen the scope of the security outfit to cover the length and breadth of the country following the discovery of crude oil in other parts of Nigeria, which explains why the company is embarking on training of cadets across the states, adding that his modus operandi is to use the locals who are familiar with the terrain to take charge.
He described stories making the rounds to suggest a takeover of existing pipelines surveillance contracts as an attempt to divide and cause disaffection among the people of the Niger Delta, and urged the people to unite to fight against those sabotaging the development of the region
On his part, the Director, Public Relations and Information, John Etekpe, said that persons or company handling any form of contract should not assume the position to speak for NNPCL to discredit Wis-South Security, adding that “we have built a reputation as a frontline security company for the NNPCL, with an identified uniform and identity card with NNPCL Ltd logo.”
He said that Wis-South Security Ltd has trained and conducted passing out parade of cadets in Yenagoa, adding that on Saturday, September 7, 2024, over 3000 trainees were commissioned at Ughellli with the Deputy Commandant of NSCDC Delta Command, DCP Dennis Ayanwu in attendance.
“Our recruitment and training transcend ethnic boundaries, and once commissioned as personnel and guards, draw monthly stipends from NNPCL. We have created job opportunities and empowered youths to make a living, and hereby advise Prince Collins Oritsetimeyin Edema to come on a fact-finding mission to our corporate headquarters in Yenagoa so as to enable him document our operations in proper perspective.”
