Intels contract restoration stirs controversy, as Atiku denies being a beneficiary
The restoration of Intels’ contract by the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) has created a controversy of interests between former Nigerian Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and the President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Social media over the weekend was agog with commentators and analysts arguing over a perceived settlement between the sitting President and former Vice President Atiku to put an end to the political disparities between themselves.
However, the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday, said he has no relationship with Integrated Logistic Services Nigeria Limited (Intels).
Atiku said this in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle in reaction to claims that he is a beneficiary of the decision to extend the boat service contract between Intels and the federal government.
Recall that the Nigerian government granted an extension to the boat service contract it entered with Intels Nigeria Limited as part of efforts to stop revenue leakage and improve the inflow of foreign exchange into government coffers.
The Government through the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) officially granted an extension to the contract following presidential directives and court consent judgment.
The NPA had in September 2020 announced the termination of the boat operation contract, directing all service boat owners and operators to do transactions directly in each port complex of the NPA.
However, a Federal High Court in Lagos granted an interim injunction, preventing the termination of Intels’ role as a managing agent in various Pilotage Districts.
The injunction was issued in response to a suit filed by Intels and Deep Offshore Service Nigeria Limited, seeking to continue their duties pending the resolution of arbitration proceedings.
According to Atiku, “In January 2021, I made public the sale of my shares in Integrated Logistic Services Nigeria Limited (Intels) to Orlean Investment Group, the parent company of Intels.
“The phased sale of those shares that commenced in 2018 peaked in December 2020. Intels also made public my exit from the oil and gas logistics company, meaning that a different entity now owns those shares I sold.
“My divestment from the company that I co-founded has not been reversed. Consequently, I cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be a beneficiary of the reinstatement of the boat pilotage monitoring business that was taken away from Intels by the Federal Government.
“Therefore, the insinuation that I am a beneficiary of the decision to rescind the cancellation of the contract between Intels and the Federal Government is untrue and should be seen for what it is: mischief,” he wrote.
Recall that in 2020, it was revealed that when Atiku became Nigeria’s vice president in 1999, he created a blind trust to hold his assets in Intels.
It was the blind trust created in 1999 that a company known as Guernsey Trust Company Nigeria Limited (GTCN) was incorporated to manage in 2003, with Gabrielle Volpi, Akintola Kekere-Ekun, a banker, and Uyiekpen Osagie, a lawyer, as its directors and trustees. GTCN held Atiku’s 16 per cent stake in Intels Nigeria Limited.
In June 2017, it was also reported how the Nigerian government moved against Intels.
Earlier in April of that year, President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the recommendations of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, breaking Intels’ near-monopoly in the handling of oil and gas cargoes in the country.
Atiku later sold his interests in the company through a series of transactions in 2020. An official said at the time that the former Nigerian Vice President exited the company with his family in a series of deals that began in December 2018.
