The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has commenced probe into the alleged payment of US$12,500,000 to a company in which the Chairman Senate committee on Customs; Senator Hope Uzodinma is said to have substantial interest.
The probe is over the US$34.5million contract awarded to a firm allegedly owned by him. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) awarded the contract during the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
The contract was for the dredging of the Calabar Access Channel by the Calabar Channel Management Limited (CCM), with Niger Global Engineering and Technical Company Limited.
But all efforts by the new NPA management to find the details of dredging for the period during which CCM claimed to have dredged the Calabar Access Channel (November 2014 to January 2015) have proved abortive.
Currently, the board of NPA is being pressurised to terminate the contract.
The management of NPA, led by its Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman since her resumption into office refused to carry on with the contract when she discovered that the contract was allegedly fraught with irregularities.
Shipping Position Daily reliably gathered last week that apart from the Board of NPA, the EFCC is already looking into the deal, including the roles played by the Senator Uzodinma.
An EFCC source said: “We have received complaints over the JV contract and a senator has a case to answer.
“We are already scrutinising all documents relating to the JV and payments made to the senator’s firm.
“Our main target is to recover public funds collected for job not done. The Senator and all those involved in the contract will be questioned by our team.”
An inquiry conducted by the Hadiza Bala Usman’s administration in NPA revealed that maritime activities in the Calabar Channel is low and cannot sustain a JV arrangement that would establish a channel management company as obtained in the Lagos and Bonny channels.
“This was also the position of the Consultant that the Authority appointed in 2004. The position has not changed. We are however of the opinion that a model that is financially prudent should be explored"
“The procurement process that brought about CCM was reviewed and described as flawed by the Bureau of Public Procurement. The recommendation for the appointment of Niger Global Engineering Limited as the JV partner for the Calabar Channel was done by the Federal Ministry of Transport unilaterally without the technical input of the Authority, including all recommendations to Mr. President.
“CCM was incorporated after the procurement process for the Calabar channel managers had begun. As stated by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) in their memo referenced BPP/PRES/2015/013 of 18‘“ May 2015 to Mr. President, “it appears as if Messrs CCM was surreptitiously incorporated for the purpose of obtaining this contract without competition”.
All efforts to find details of dredging activities for the period during which CCM claimed to have dredged the Calabar Access Channel (November 2014 to January 2015) proved abortive.
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