Monarchs from Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to decentralise the surveillance of pipelines and oil and gas facilities in the state.
The traditional rulers, under the auspices of the Ilaje Local Government Council of Obas, said decentralisation was necessary to enable residents of coastal communities to effectively protect pipelines from vandals and other criminal elements.
This was contained in a letter addressed to the President, signed by the Secretary of the group, Oba Obafemi Ogbaro, and made available to journalists on Friday. The monarchs had earlier met in Igbokoda, the headquarters of the council area, to deliberate on the issue.
According to the monarchs, the current centralised surveillance framework limits local participation, creating gaps that pose risks to community harmony and the protection of national assets.
The letter read in part: “As custodians of peace within Ondo State, particularly Ilaje Local Government Area, we consider it imperative to draw Your Excellency’s urgent attention to the structural imbalance in the current pipeline and oil and gas facilities surveillance framework.
““While we acknowledge the Federal Government’s efforts to secure vital oil infrastructure, the current arrangement remains over-centralised and insufficiently inclusive, particularly with respect to Ondo State.
“This has resulted in the marginalisation of local stakeholders, weakened community ownership, very limited youth engagement—with fewer than 100 youths currently involved—and persistent complaints of unpaid salaries, which undermine morale and operational effectiveness.
“More concerning is the infiltration of unfamiliar actors into our waterways under the cover of surveillance operations, some of whom are credibly linked to illegal bunkering, crude theft, and maritime crime. This development threatens the very objective of the programme.”
The traditional rulers noted that a decentralised, state-based coordination structure would enhance transparency, improve oversight, and strengthen operational effectiveness while preventing undue influence in the region.
They urged the President to order an immediate review and decentralisation of pipeline and oil and gas surveillance operations across the Niger Delta and ensure that Ondo State operations are coordinated by credible indigenous stakeholders.