Amgbare Ekaunkumo, Yenagoa
The Chief Executive Officer of Wis-South Security Ltd, Chief Wisdom Joseph Owo has dispelled rumours making the rounds linking the training of young men and women in Yenagoa as a preparatory step to take over existing pipelines surveillance contracts in the Niger Delta as misleading and false.
He made the disclosure while fielding questions from Journalists on a fact finding mission at the Corporate Headquarters of the security outfit in Yenagoa.
Chief Wisdom Joseph Owo who doubles as the Chairman of Private Security Guards in the Niger Delta and also Chairman Niger Delta People in Abuja who hails from Diebu, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State said Wis-South Security Ltd is a category “A” licensed security outfit and function as Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited police with the mandate to monitor its facilities, joint venture oil installations, gather information on the activities of security agents and other multi-national companies in the oil and gas industry and avail the management of NNPCL Ltd for informed decision making to protect critical national assets.
He said Wis- South Security Ltd deals directly with NNPCL Ltd and have been in existence since 2016 including providing security for the NNPCL Ltd Tower in Abuja.
Also throwing more light on the operations of Wis- Security Ltd, the Director of Operations, Chief Womotimi Gabriel Apaingolo noted that the ongoing training of youths is to increase the staff strength of the security outfit to cope with the scope of its mandate as NNPCL Ltd police to adequately deploy their personnel to monitor, effectively patrol and secure oil facilities in the Niger Delta and not an attempt to take over pipeline surveillance contracts from other security companies.
He hinted that NNPCL Ltd has written to the Inspector General of Police and all the Service Chiefs of the mandate of Wis- South Security Ltd and the need for the military, other security agencies to work with them to secure NNPCL Ltd facilities.
Chief Womotimi Gabriel Apaingolo who is also the Commandant Civilian Joint Taskforce, Bayelsa Stated Command stated that the license granted to Wis-South Security Ltd is not an oil and gas license adding that iit is a good thing to have Niger Deltans carrying out pipeline surveillance contracts which he stated is providing employment opportunities for the teeming youths, reducing crime and criminality in the region.
The Director Operations informed that the training of personnels is supervised by the Nigerian Security And Civil Defence Corps( NSCDC).
He inform that the criteria for recruitment is minimum qualifications of West African Senior School Certificate or NECO, any other higher certificate and understanding the environment will be an added advantage. Chief Womotimi Gabriel Apaingolo listed the achievements of the security outfit to include arrest of pipeline vandals who were handed over to relevant authorities for prosecution.
In his remarks, the Legal Consultant of Wis- South Security Ltd, Barr. E.J Zikenah said it is a frontline security outfit to NNPCL Ltd which carry out covert operations by providing
intelligent reports to NNPCL Ltd to protect the entire oil and gas infrastructure, fully registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission with Board of Directors.
Barr.Zikenah noted that security component is an important aspect of the Petroleum Industry Act and part of Wis-South Security Ltd is to identity and arrest companies operating without proper license.
The renowned legal luminary informed that Wis-South Security Ltd has employed Twenty Thousand youths from the nine oil producing states and were trained by the Nigerian Security And Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC ))in the Department of Private Guards stressing that NNPCL Ltd has widen the scope of the security outfit to cover the length and breadth of the country following the discovery of crude oil in other parts of Nigeria.
He said the stories making the rounds to take over existing pipelines surveillance contracts is an attempt to divide and cause disaffection among the people of the Niger Delta and urged them to unite to fight against those sabotaging the development of the region
On his part, the PRO of Wis-South Security Ltd, John Etekpe stated that the security outfit has an identified uniform and identity card with NNPCL Ltd Logo.
He thanked the Journalists for the fact finding mission and urged them to always cross check and verify facts before publication, and promised to work with the media to propagate the activities of the Wis-South Security Ltd for sustainable peace, and development in the country.
