Youths from the Nembe and Brass Councils of Bayelsa State are at war with a crude oil pipeline surveillance company over alleged incomplete payment of their monthly stipends.

The youths, who staged a protest against an anti-crude oil theft surveillance contractors, Kojo Sam Logistics Limited, seized patrol boats belonging to the company in the area.

But in reaction to the protest, the company denied involvement in the half-salary payment scandal that triggered the protest, saying the youths should direct their grievance to their local coordinators.

The surveillance company, which is involved in the multimillion naira crude oil pipeline surveillance job awarded by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Limited, in statement signed by its media consultant, Ala Mathias Nyenye, said the claim of the company’s complicity in half salary payment was untrue, saying full payments by the company were made to workers through their coordinators in various communities.

It was gathered that while over 2,000 youths engaged in Bayelsa State by the state Coordinator of the Tantita Security Services owned by former militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo, were paid N200,000 monthly allowance for the job, the aggrieved boys attached to Kojo Sam Logistics Limited were being paid N50,000.

Investigations showed that despite the existing agreement between the Chief Executive Officer of Kojo Sam Logistics Limited, Chief Kojo Sam and the youths over the payment of N100, 000 monthly to accommodate more youths in the crude oil pipeline surveillance jobs, the company paid them N50, 000 instead of the agreed N100,000.

When newsmen contacted the Bayelsa office of the Tantita Security Service, officials working with the Coordinator, Great Joshua Machiver, declined comment. But a close source told newsmen that N200, 000 was the minimum pay per worker as approved by Tompolo.

However, Sam Kojo in a statement, stated that the aggrieved youths wrongly accused the company of paying only N50,000 against the initial agreement of N100,000 monthly allowance.

The statement, made available via electronic mail, described the development as unfortunate, insisting that a group of individuals was attempting to smear the company’s reputation and that of the company’s MD/CEO with false accusation.

“It is unfair for anyone to accuse the company of half payment of allowances when complete payments were made to the coordinators’ bank account in charge of the various communities, who are responsible for disbursing complete allowances to newly employed workers.”

The statement added that there are documents to show that full payments were made to the coordinators, who received the money from the company. (The Guardian)

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