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Kestin Pondi, managing director of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, disbursed N800 million ($570,000) in business grants to 80 entrepreneurs at a ceremony in Effurun, Delta State on Monday, marking the second edition of a privately funded empowerment programme he says is designed to strengthen small businesses and create jobs across Nigeria.
The event took place at the MBB Event Center along Refinery Road in Uvwie Local Government Area. It drew government officials, business leaders and community stakeholders from across Delta State for what organizers described as one of the largest privately funded business empowerment initiatives in the Niger Delta region.
The programme started with 50 beneficiaries, each set to receive N5 million. Pondi doubled the individual grant to N10 million at the event, pushing the initial outlay to N500 million. Three other figures then stepped in with matching contributions. The General Manager of Operations at Tantita, Chief Godfrey Tare Pondi, added N100 million supporting 10 more businesses. Delta State Commissioner for Power and Energy Michael Ifeanyi Anoka contributed another N100 million, also for 10 beneficiaries. The Managing Director of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, Chief Festus Ochonogor, came in with a further N100 million. By the time the ceremony ended, the programme had expanded to 80 beneficiaries and a total payout of N800 million.
Beneficiaries were drawn from all 36 states of Nigeria, selected from more than 26,000 applications whittled down to 100 finalists before an independent panel chose the final 50 primary recipients. Businesses selected include Abizen Foods, BlueHive Tech, Vanguard Farms, Pillars Bakery, Jay Sea Food, Urban Threads Collective and Shola Pepper Farm, among others.
Pondi said the businesses supported in the programme's maiden 2025 edition had already expanded and were creating jobs for others. "We must appreciate the fact that today's business climate is not friendly due to several factors that include rising operational costs and increasing competitive cost," he said. "We decided to reach out to Nigerians across the country through a thorough screening exercise to pick those who really need this assistance to grow their businesses."
Pondi, a civil engineer and Ijaw son of the Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State, is one of the co-founders of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, which was established in 2005. The other co-founders include Niger Delta figure Government Ekpemupolo, widely known as Tompolo, alongside Ibrahim Sabo and Godspower Sinwah. Pondi has served as managing director since the company's founding, while Tompolo, who is broadly regarded as the driving force behind the firm's strategic vision, is a director and the most prominent public figure associated with it.
The company holds a pipeline surveillance contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and has become one of the most consequential private security outfits in Nigeria's oil and gas sector. Under Pondi's day-to-day management, Tantita has been credited with a sharp reduction in crude oil theft across Nigeria's western corridor, with crude production recovering from roughly 1 million barrels per day at its lowest point to levels approaching 2 million barrels per day in recent years.
The contract renewal question hangs in the background. Community groups and civil society voices across the Niger Delta have publicly called on President Bola Tinubu and the NNPCL to extend and expand Tantita's surveillance mandate. Supporters argue the company has generated over 8,000 jobs in the region, reduced kidnapping and sea piracy, and built community infrastructure including a police divisional headquarters in Ugborikoko. A Federal High Court last year dismissed a lawsuit challenging the NNPCL's original contract award to Tantita, a ruling supporters described as validation of the firm's track record.
Ochonogor, speaking on behalf of DESOPADEC at the event, said government cannot drive economic development alone. "Initiatives like this complement the efforts of government and directly empower our people," he said. The event was themed "Your Skill, Your Business, Our Support."
