NIMASA boss Peterside, Reps clash over Tompolo’s contract

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside, has come on the spot over the award of a debt recovery contract to a company, SNECO Financial Services Limited.

The contract awarded to the company, was formerly being handled by a company owned by ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that SNECO allegedly has links to the Rivers State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Davies Ikanya.

The award of the contract by NIMASA came under the radar of the House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration on Tuesday, when Peterside appeared before it.

Chairman of the committee, Umar Bago, said the committee has been inundated with several petitions over the award of the contract to SNECO and that there are allegations that the company was only incorporated in April 2016.

Bago further disclosed that one of the petitions also claimed that the company, saddled with the responsibility of recovering the huge debt owed the agency by shipping companies, will pocket a whooping 13 percent of recovered debts. This, the committee said, was huge.

Responding to questions about the award of the contract, the NIMASA DG said the award followed due process and that the Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, issued a certificate of no objection for it.

Read also: Tension mounts as NIMASA awards Tompolo’s contract to APC chieftain

However, a member of the committee, Daniel Asequo, asked Peterside to produce documentary evidence of the audited account of the company, its pedigree and ownership.

Not satisfied with Peterside’s explanation, the committee said it would conduct a public hearing into the process leading to the award of the contract next week.

Earlier during the session with the committee, the NIMASA boss had disagreed with Bago over the amount of debt being owed the agency.

While Bago said the debt profile stood at $5 billion, Peterside insisted that it is $420.5 million from 2004 till date.

Peterside said, “I never said that NIMASA was owed $5bn. The entire volume of shipping trade in Nigeria in the last four years is nothing close to $10bn.

The Rep committee however, unsatisfied with his response insisted on holding a full investigative hearing on the controversial contract.

Bags said, “DG, there will be an investigative hearing. So, you can speak on those questions that you have answers to give now.

“On those questions that you are not ready to answer, please prepare fully and come during the investigative hearing,” he advised.

It would be recalled that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration had suspended the contract, which was awarded to the former militant leader under the Goodluck Jonathan administration as part of the deal to have lasting solution to the crisis in the Niger Delta.

Ripples Nigeria had reported on October 1 that Peterside, had in a memo, informed all concerned that the responsibilities of debt recovery and other related activities will henceforth be handled by a new firm, SNECO Financial Services, a company Ikanya allegedly has some interest.

However, there had been concerns among stateholders that SNECO does not have the needed clout to undertake the contract, as it does not have confidence of ex-militant leaders in that region who have been working with NIMASA on the debt recovery and surveilance under the former dispensation.

By Timothy Enietan-Matthews….

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