The Home of Representatives yesterday waded into the continued controversy between the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and Intels Nigeria Restricted.
The Home, whereas adopting a movement by Rep Diri Douye (PDP, Bayelsa), resolved to represent an advert hoc panel to probe the circumstances that led to NPA’s determination to terminate an current contract between it and Intels.
The committee is to establish if due course of was adopted within the termination of the settlement and different associated issues. It has two weeks to submit its report.
The Home stated NPA ought to reverse the termination of the contract with Intels, pending the end result of the investigation.
The movement triggered critical division among the many lawmakers, with numerous them opposing it. However it scaled via in the long run.
Douye stated the settlement included the development and operation of Apapa, Warri, Federal Ocean Terminal Port and Onne in Port Harcourt, which he stated Intels spent $900 million on.
Nevertheless, he stated, NPA terminated the contract in a letter to the Lawyer Basic of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), on September 27, saying the motion was primarily based on an alleged illegality of the settlement.
The motion, the lawmaker stated, has damaging penalties on the Nigerians working at Intels and their dependents.
In supporting the movement, Sergius Ogun (PDP, Edo), stated the Home should intervene within the matter as Intels workers have been already protesting on the ports.
Equally, different lawmakers reminiscent of Hassan Saleh (APC, Benue), Simon Arabo (PDP, Kaduna) supported the movement.
However opposing the movement, Rep Rotimi Agunsoye (APC, Lagos) stated the Home ought to go away the matter for the judiciary to resolve, calling on Intels to go to court docket.
Additionally, Rep Ahmad Babba Kaita (APC, Katsina) stated there seemed to be monopoly on the a part of Intels as all different aggressive firms folded up after the settlement was signed.
“Intels as we see right now will not be even owned by Nigerians. The possession construction of the corporate is solely international, however they use Nigerians as fronts and killed many indigenous firms working in the identical trade,” he stated.
Rep Aliyu Sani Madaki (APC, Kano), stated Intels’ refusal to pay the collected income to the federal government coffers via the Treasury Single Account (TSA) went opposite to Part 81 of the structure which offers that “all revenues or different monies made on behalf of presidency shall be paid to an account generally known as the Consolidated Income Account of the Federation.”
However Speaker Yakubu Dogara responded by saying there’s nowhere on this planet that monopoly is an offence, saying “some companies are higher carried out in a monopolistic setting.”
[Daily Trust]
