The House of Representatives has ordered management of Intels to remit the multi-million dollar revenue accrued from pilotage service contract into the Treasury Single Account, TSA, within 24 hours. The lawmakers also asked the management to include in the remittance interests accrued on the fund since November 2016 without further delay.
Chairman of the Ad-hoc committee on the need to ascertain the proceeds of the TSA, Abubakar Danburam, issued the directive during the investigative public hearing. Damburam also mandated Intels to provide full details of the amount owed Federal Government within 24 hours, just as he threatened to enforce the committee’s statutory powers, if the company failed to comply with Federal Government policy on TSA.
The committee also resolved to summon Dakuku Peterside, Director-General of Nigerian Maritime and Safety Administration, NIMASA, as well as Yusuf Makashi, Managing Director of Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, for failing to honour invitations extended to them.
According to Silvano Bellinato, Intels Executive Director and Mba Onum, Intels Legal Adviser, the company collects 28% of the revenue generated on behalf of Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA.
Bellinato said that NPA and Intels have commenced reconciliation of accounts, adding that the company is awaiting CBN to provide guidelines for the company to commence payment into the TSA.
On his part, Onum disclosed that NPA’s indebtedness which rose from $700 million to $848,910,988, had left the company in a dilemma, adding that NPA’s revenue, which rose from $6.5 million to $8.5 million before Intels entered into the agreement with NPA, currently rose to $210 million as at October 2017.
He explained that the company’s resentment was spurred by the TSA policy which mandated the company to remit all the revenue and commission, thereby conflicting with the agreement signed between Intels and NPA.
According to him, Intels was given the directive to pay the balance into TSA after deduction of the 28% commission at source, an agreement approved by Federal Executive Council, FEC.
In a bid to address the challenges, Onum emphasized the need for NPA to approach FEC for redress by granting necessary waiver for the company to payback loan facility obtained from its bankers.
He alleged that the TSA dynamic does not permit NPA to pay, and that the NPA management made it clear to the company that it could only give assurance that the money will be paid.
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