The Nigerian Ports Authority has
come out with explanations regarding the suspension of its pilotage monitoring
and supervision agreement with maritime logistics firm, Integrated Logistics
Services Nigeria Limited, Intels.
The Federal Government had asked
the NPA to void the boats pilotage agreement it had with Intels.
The Attorney-General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had explained that the
contract was void from the beginning and was reported to have relayed the
government’s decision to the Managing Director, NPA, Hadiza Usman, in a letter
dated September 27.
The NPA said it relied on the
advice of the AGF in arriving at the decision to terminate the contract.
NPA’s statement was signed by the
General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, Abdullahi Goje, where
it maintained that it sought the legal advice after more than one year of
attempts to get Intels to comply with the directive on the TSA.
The statement said, “The first of
such correspondence was through a letter written by the former Executive
Director, Finance and Administration, Mr. Olumide Oduntan, on June 28, 2016
directing the company to pay all revenues collected on behalf of the NPA into
the TSA sub account at the CBN.
“All further attempts by the
Authority to get the company to obey this directive were met with various
excuses until the Authority wrote to seek the AGF’s legal advice on how to
proceed with the NPA/ Intels relationship in a letter dated May 31, 2017.”
The NPA explained further that
the legal advice contained in a September 27, 2017 letter addressed to Usman,
by Malami, expressly stated that the agreement for the monitoring and
supervision of pilotage districts in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Nigeria
permits Intels to receive revenue generated in each pilotage district from
service boat operations.
It said that this was in
consideration for 28 per cent of total revenue as commission to Intels was
void, “being a contract ex facie illegal as formed for permitting Intels to
receive Federal Government revenue.”
The NPA said that this was
“contrary to the express provisions of Sections 80 (1 ) and 162(1 ) and (10) of
the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which
mandates that such revenue must be paid into the Federation Account
/Consolidated Revenue Fund.”
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Then let the legal fire works begin
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