A coalition of youth movements from Nigeria's southern Rivers state has urged the country's federal government to decentralize pipeline security contracts in the Niger Delta, stressing that this is essential to creating opportunities for youths and that failing to do so would be "neither equitable nor sustainable," THISDAY reported on April 7. Meanwhile, traditional rulers and stakeholders in neighboring Imo state expressed their support for the current pipeline protection contract led by Government "Tompolo" Ekpemupolo, which is currently due to expire later in 2026.

Tompolo previously led the now-defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, which caused severe damage to Nigeria's oil infrastructure, before striking an amnesty deal with the federal government that eventually tasked him with protecting oil pipelines in the Niger Delta through his company, Tantita Security Services. The pipeline protection contract was last renewed in 2023. A number of activists from the Niger Delta protested outside the National Assembly in Abuja on March 31, calling for the decentralization of the pipeline protection contract.