About eight years after the national carrier; Nigeria Unity Line (NUL) was sold to Seaforce Shipping Company Limited for $20m and about four years after the deal turned soar, government is again poised to sell the company.
The development comes after the compnay was dumped by Seaforce Shipping Company; a company belonging to oil mogul; Mr Femi Otedola. And this time, the Federal Government has commenced search for strategic investors.
About eight years after the national carrier; Nigeria Unity Line (NUL) was sold to Seaforce Shipping Company Limited for $20m and about four years after the deal turned soar, government is again poised to sell the company.
The development comes after the compnay was dumped by Seaforce Shipping Company; a company belonging to oil mogul; Mr Femi Otedola. And this time, the Federal Government has commenced search for strategic investors.
The development has been confirmed by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) whose spokesperson, Mr. Chukwuma Nwokoh said last weekend that the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) which is statutorily headed by the vice president met recently.
Nwokoh confirmed that the council approved that shares in NUL be sold to strategic investors, even as he expressed high hopes that unlike in the past, NUL will this time arrpund get a genuine strategic investor.
“The passage of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Act 2007 and Local Content Act 2011 are current positive indicators in the maritime industry that have added value to NUL and have provided the necessary institutional framework to enforce compliance with extant laws. In addition, some prospective investors have shown interest in on December 2, 2005NUL.
“BPE has consistently ensured that NUL’s licence was renewed in order to maintain its local and international relevance. Furthermore, NUL has no liability and is not encumbered in any way.”
Shipping Position Daily recalls that Seaforce Shipping had to dump the national carrier and secured a return on money paid because the sale was predicated on a presidential directive to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to allow the investor lift 40 per cent of the nation’s daily crude export. Although, the directive was given by then- president Olusegun Obasanjo, it was not complied with by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
NUL is a public limited liability company wholly owned by the Nigerian government through NIMASA. It was incorporated on January 23, 1995 and commenced operations in July 1996.
The embattled national carrier has no ships.
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