Traditional rulers in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, operating under the Ilaje Council of Obas, have called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently decentralise pipeline and oil and gas facilities surveillance operations across the Niger Delta region.
They warned that the current centralised arrangement may be undermining security effectiveness and weakening trust between host communities and security operatives.
The monarchs made the appeal in response to growing concerns over the management of critical oil infrastructure in the region, stressing that greater local participation is necessary to strengthen intelligence gathering, improve coordination, and enhance the protection of national assets.
The appeal was contained in a formal letter signed by the council’s secretary, Oba Dr. Obafemi Ogbaro, following consultations with traditional stakeholders across coastal communities.
The monarchs said their intervention was driven by concern over rising security vulnerabilities in oil-producing areas and the need to strengthen local participation in safeguarding critical national assets.
They argued that the existing centralised surveillance structure has reduced grassroots involvement and created operational gaps, noting that host communities are often the first to notice suspicious activities around pipelines and waterways but are largely excluded from key decision-making processes.
According to the traditional rulers, this exclusion has weakened intelligence gathering and slowed response times, making critical infrastructure more exposed to sabotage, including pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, and illegal bunkering activities.
The council also expressed concern that overstretched command structures and limited community engagement have affected the efficiency of surveillance operations.
They further raised issues around youth involvement, noting that participation remains very low, which they said has contributed to frustration in coastal communities that bear the environmental and security burden of oil exploration.
The monarchs alleged challenges within the current framework, including delays in personnel welfare such as unpaid salaries, which they said have negatively affected morale and operational performance.
More troubling, they warned of what they described as the infiltration of unfamiliar actors into local waterways under the guise of surveillance operations, raising fears of possible compromise of security efforts.
Despite these concerns, the monarchs acknowledged existing cooperation between Ilaje and neighbouring Ijaw communities, describing it as a strong example of grassroots peace building.
They noted that such collaboration has helped reduce incidents of piracy, armed robbery, and other maritime crimes across Ondo, Edo, and Delta coastal corridors; however, they cautioned that the peace remains delicate and must be carefully preserved.
The traditional rulers, therefore, backed calls for a decentralised surveillance framework, arguing that it would improve efficiency, deepen accountability, and enhance community ownership of security operations.
They added that such reform would also expand youth employment opportunities and strengthen trust between security operatives and host communities.
They further emphasised the need for fairness and balance in the distribution of surveillance responsibilities across Niger Delta states, warning against any arrangement that could create perceptions of dominance or exclusion.
The monarchs urged the Federal Government to ensure that Ondo State surveillance operations are coordinated with credible indigenous stakeholders, while also calling for greater integration of traditional institutions and community-based intelligence networks into the broader security system.
They reaffirmed their commitment to peace and national stability and expressed confidence that President Tinubu would consider their appeal in the interest of fairness, security, and sustainable development across the Niger Delta region.