By: Bulou Kosin, Warri.

Niger Delta activist, Moses Mala, has described High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, and the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro, as proven forces of inter-ethnic harmony in the Niger Delta, leveraging their access to government for peacebuilding.

Mala made the assertion while speaking to journalists on Tuesday in Bomadi, reacting to recent comments credited to Itsekiri-born Chief Robinson Ariyo, which he described as “a veiled reference to Tompolo, Otuaro, and other Ijaw leaders.”

Ariyo had advised the Federal Government against “giving security and surveillance contracts to unrepentant ex-militants,” alleging that instead of deploying such contracts for peacekeeping, “some have institutionalised influence through government contracts or access to state resources to consolidate power, intimidate other ethnic nationalities, and pursue territorial and political dominance.”

Responding, Mala said Ariyo’s description more accurately reflected the actions of the late Dore Numa, whose land-grabbing and expansionist activities in Warri, he claimed, were inherited by the Itsekiri Communal Land Trustees and sustained by what he termed the Itsekiri establishment.

“The Itsekiri leveraged government contacts and resources to politically maltreat other ethnic groups, thereby triggering crises that spanned over a century in the Warri territory,” Mala alleged.

He added that, in contrast, Tompolo and Otuaro have consistently demonstrated commitment to Niger Delta unity. “It is incontestable that Tompolo’s Tantita Security Services benefits all oil-bearing ethnic groups, including Ariyo’s Itsekiri ethnic nationality,” he said.

Mala cited Tantita’s operations in Isoko Nation, which, according to him, led to the investiture of Tantita’s Managing Director, High Chief Kestin Pondi, as the Owena of Ozoro Kingdom in appreciation of the company’s efforts.

He further referenced Tompolo’s N10 billion donation to the Delta State Security Trust Fund as evidence of his sustained collaboration with security agencies in curbing crime across the state.

“Similarly, the Presidential Amnesty Programme under Dr Dennis Otuaro has recently engaged more people of Isoko and Itsekiri extraction in a deliberate effort to promote harmony and peace in the oil-producing region,” Mala said.

According to him, the actions of Tompolo and Otuaro cannot be said to “deepen ethnic suspicion,” as alleged by Ariyo.

Mala also lamented what he described as divisive rhetoric, noting that the revered Itsekiri monarch, Ogiame Atuwatse III, appears to be charting a new path of inclusiveness through Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd, which engages Ijaw, Itsekiri, and other ethnic groups, similar to Tompolo’s Tantita, for Nigeria’s economic prosperity.

“It is unfortunate that while the Itsekiri monarch is promoting unity and economic collaboration, the likes of Chief Ariyo remain locked in historical, unprofitable, uncivilised, and unsustainable narratives of hate,” Mala said.