Personnel from the Itsekiri community of Tantita Security Services Limited debunked a viral video on Friday, showing individuals protesting against High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo, and his security outfit, alleging that Itsekiri people have not been employed by the company.
Itsekiri beneficiaries of Tantita extraction gathered at Ugbodede Community in the Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State to refute the viral video during a press briefing on Friday.
Fidelis Lori, Coordinator of Obodo, Opumami Cluster, and six other communities, asserted that several Itsekiri indigenes are currently employed by Tantita Security Services Limited.
“We have contracts with Tantita Security Services Limited. We have individuals employed directly by Tantita Security Services, and by the grace of God, most of our coordinators are here.
“We are here to inform the general public that what they were saying was indeed misleading. Itsekiri communities, to the best of our knowledge, have been involved.
“We’ve closely examined that video and found that those involved in the alleged protest are not Itsekiri indigenes. These impersonators are not from our communities. The people you see here now represent Itsekiri communities.
“In my cluster, where I am the coordinator, I have about 135 job slots, which are already in progress, and payment is prompt,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Engr. Samson Uwatse, Coordinator of Tantita, Ugbodede Unit, covering routes along Warri rivers, maintained that Tantita Security has positively impacted many lives in the Itsekiri region.
“We have employees in the entire Ugbodede Community. In this community, we have women employees, elders, and youths who are involved in Tantita Security Services, and they are all paid every month.
“So, with all this, I want to inform the entire nation that those who say Tompolo and Tantita are not involving Itsekiri people are liars, as the Tantita office is actively combating oil theft in the nation. We Itsekiris are fully here to support it,” Uwatse stated.
Another Tantita beneficiary, Kuyatsemi Collins, and others condemned those behind the viral videos, emphasizing that they are not happy with the false and malicious accusations that Tantita is neglecting Itsekiri people.
He noted that they were at the press conference “to assert that it’s not true.”
