A high-level corruption scandal has been uncovered in the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), involving senior directors and officials of Intel Services.
We have obtained documents, including a circular dated April 22nd, signed by Engr. Badmus, Executive Director of Marine and Operations, on behalf of the Managing Director. This circular directed all agents on service boats to make payments to NPA dedicated accounts at Fidelity and Zenith banks.
However, a week later, on April 29, 2024, the same officer issued another circular, countering the first. This new directive instructed all payments to be made to Intels Nigeria Limited, now the Managing Agent of the Nigerian Ports Authority.
Intels Nigeria Limited had only recently been reinstated as the NPA service boat managing agent across all pilotage districts after its contract expired and was not renewed by the former MD, Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman.
Insider sources became suspicious of this new directive, as it clearly breached the federal government policy that mandates all ministries and agencies to remit all revenues to the Treasury Single Accounts (TSA), which had been the practice at NPA before Intels was re-engaged by the new management.
During the investigation, it was discovered that the April 29th circular, directing payments to Intels, was influenced by Intels’ response to the earlier April 22nd circular.
On April 22nd, the same day the Ports Authority issued its earlier circular, Intels Nigeria sent a letter soliciting the NPA management’s assistance to initiate “immediate action by sending letters to clients for prompt remittance of pilotage bills through the Managing Agent (Intels Nigeria Limited),” which reliable sources said was wrongly reinstated with the help of “powerful forces within the Villa.”
This acted as a marching order to the Ports Authority management, leading to the issuance of the second circular on April 29th, reversing the directive for clients to make payments to the TSA account.
Further suspicion arose when Intels, a service provider like other agents, listed names of clients with pilotage dues in all pilotage districts and the outstanding amounts against them but excluded its own unpaid dues from the list.
This letter, signed by Luca Nagnaneli, the Group Financial Officer of Intels, a foreigner, received prompt attention, prompting suspicions of an alleged underhand deal between some NPA top directors and Intels Nigeria Limited.
Insiders are questioning the NPA management’s decision to bypass federal government policy requiring all payments to be made into TSA accounts, seemingly to accommodate Intels, which is just one of several service providers in the four pilotage districts.
The letter from Intels appears to be a directive to the NPA management, instructing it to issue letters to service operators to make payments through Intels Nigeria Limited into their Zenith Bank Plc and Citibank New York accounts.
This situation is akin to the tail wagging the dog, where a client has the audacity to direct a crucial federal agency to undertake an illegal action of diverting government revenue to private accounts.
While the debate continues over the propriety of the NPA’s action to circumvent federal policy on TSA accounts, readers may recall that Intels Nigeria Limited dominated port business operations in Nigeria for twenty years until the former NPA MD broke its monopoly by not renewing its contract, which expired in August 2020.
The decision not to renew Intels’ contract was welcomed as it allowed indigenous port operators to participate in a bidding process held on Monday, January 20, 2020.
Bids were submitted for the four lots in the Lagos, Warri, Bonny/Port Harcourt, and Calabar pilotage districts.
Following the successful completion of the bidding process, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) issued a due process compliance of “No Objection” for contract awards to various contractors who participated.
In a letter (BPP/S.1/Vol XVIII/23/964) dated August 30, 2023, addressed to the Honorable Minister of Blue Economy and signed by its Director General, Mammam Ahmadu, the BPP advised the minister to seek Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval for the contract awards.
To date, almost a year later, this advice has not been followed, leaving the successful contractors uncertain about their future.
It should be noted that Intels Nigeria Limited was among the contractors that bid for the jobs but was disqualified for multiple bidding, which contravened the bidding guidelines.
Curiously, Intels Nigeria Limited was re-engaged through a backdoor arrangement and has now been appointed by the new NPA management as both a service provider and the management agent in charge of collecting revenues from other boat operators on its behalf.
This development has puzzled concerned port operators and NPA staff, who are determined to uncover the details.
Speculation is rife that Intels Nigeria Limited is now owned by an individual believed to be very close to the President, who allegedly used his high-level connections to reinstate Intels through this backdoor method.
Equally troubling is the significant amount of payments that port operators are now being directed to make to the private accounts of Intels Nigeria Limited, in violation of the government’s TSA policy.
This situation raises serious concerns about accountability and the anti-corruption stance of some public officials within President Tinubu’s administration.
It remains to be seen whether the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will intervene to investigate this matter.
