Edo’s Oil Wealth, Delta State Gains: Why Edo Youths Must Wake Up and Reclaim Their Future

 

I recently watched a video of High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, Chairman of Tantita Security Network Limited, donating ₦10 billion to the Delta State Government as a Security Trust Fund. It was a commendable gesture, a reflection of vision, leadership, and commitment to peace and development in the Niger Delta.

Yet, as I applauded this act, it stirred something deeper: a painful reminder from my time as Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Oil and Gas ,an experience that exposes why Edo youths must wake up, get organized, and demand their rightful share in the oil and gas value chain.

During my tenure, I received numerous complaints from host communities about persistent pipeline vandalism and insecurity ,even in areas supposedly under the protection of Tantita Security Network Limited, the firm contracted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Limited (NNPL) to safeguard vital oil and gas infrastructure across the Niger Delta. Seeking clarity, I contacted Tantita’s management to understand how operations were structured within Edo State.

I was informed that the Edo segment of the surveillance contract had been sublet to an individual from Ologbo community ;one whom many locals believe hails from Delta. Eager to collaborate, I invited him for a meeting. He claimed to have over 1,000 Edo youths on his payroll, with about ₦100 million spent monthly on salaries ,an encouraging picture at first glance. But when I requested verifiable records, the truth was starkly different.

Independent verification by my office revealed that roughly 68% of those employed under the Edo surveillance contract were actually from Delta State. In other words, while Edo bears the environmental and social burdens of oil exploration, the economic benefits ,jobs, contracts, and income were largely flowing elsewhere.

Even more troubling, further investigation showed that the operator managing the Edo contract had no record of tax payments to the Edo State Government, despite significant business operations within its territory. That meant Edo was losing twice first in jobs, and then in revenue that should have supported community development, infrastructure, and youth empowerment.

In response, I began compiling a detailed report with recommendations to the government. My findings revealed a deeper systemic injustice: Edo, despite being oil-rich, continues to be shortchanged in both recognition and reward.

Our analysis showed that Edo State is losing approximately ₦2billion monthly in derivation due to the wrongful ceding of oil assets to Delta State, ₦1 billion annually in PAYE taxes that should accrue to Edo, and about 350 direct job opportunities every year.

These are not exaggerations ,they are verifiable data . One of the largest oil exploration companies operating in Edo recently recruited about 146 new employees, yet not a single one was from Edo State. If I were to lay bare the full scale of losses Edo has suffered, many would weep. And yet, instead of channeling our collective outrage into strategic action, too many of our youths spend their days battling each other on social media wasting the same energy that could transform their future. These operators are so organized, smart , secretive and influential to the level that whenever they sense you know what you are doing and ready to do the right thing, they have their ways of shutting you down and I can understand why many prefers to align with them instead of doing the right thing. 

For us in Edo, the problem is not lack of intelligence, courage, or potential among Edo youths. It is the lack of strategy, structure, and collective focus. While other states deliberately organize their youths to benefit from oil and gas opportunities, many of ours remain distracted by online conflicts, political divisions, misinformation and too much focus on pettiness. 

The truth is simple: those who organize, strategize, and negotiate will always dominate those who merely complain. The oil and gas sector does not reward noise,it rewards knowledge, organization, and sustained engagement.

Edo youths must now move from reaction to strategy. We need coordinated advocacy platforms capable of engaging government agencies, multinational operators, and regulators constructively. Social media outrage will not change our reality ,but structured engagement, documentation, and follow-up will. Every oil and gas operation within Edo must reflect local employment, community inclusion, and full compliance with tax obligations.

Edo is blessed with brilliant, resilient, and ambitious youths. But unless we unite around information, structure, and purpose, our potential will continue to be exploited by others. The time has come to stop being spectators in our own economy and start being stakeholders in our own development.

Our energy must no longer be wasted on division or idle complaints but focused on demanding fairness, accountability, and equity in all oil and gas operations that affect our communities. Through unity, strategy, and informed advocacy, Edo youths can rewrite their story.

The destiny of Edo’s oil and gas future will not be determined by chance ,it will be shaped by strategy.

And the time to begin is now!

I RISE!

By Felix Osemwengie Isere,Esq.

Former Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Oil and Gas