Firm Replies Falana, Says Cargo Tracking Contract Legitimate, Duly Approved by FG

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The operator of the federal government’s International Cargo Tracking Noted (ICTN) scheme, Antaser Nigeria Limited has faulted a report attributed to Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, that the award of the scheme to it did not follow due process.

The firm in a statement urged the rights activist as well as an online publication to get their facts right before making such weighty allegations.

The online publication in its recent report had attributed the allegation to Falana that the award of the ICTN project to Antaser Nigeria Limited did not follow due process.

Responding via a statement signed by the company’s General Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr. Emmanuel Aiyegbeni, the firm refuted the allegations, and urged Sahara Reporters and Falana, “to make use of the Freedom of Information Act to verify the facts from all relevant agencies and ministries involved in the procurement process and share their findings with the public.”

In proving that the project was legitimately awarded, the GM Corporate Communication recalled that the scheme which started as the Transport and Port Management System (TPMS) was initially suspended by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration due to some port reform.

“But shortly after, the government and all the stakeholders saw the immense benefits of ICTN and demanded its immediate reinstatement. Shortly after reinstatement, the contract was terminated due to TPMS’s non-remittance of the actual accrued revenue to the federal government.

“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) confirmed that Antaser Afrique Bvba, as a technical partner to TPMS, promptly remitted all monies due to the government, leading to Antaser Afrique’s complete exoneration, while TPMS was indicted, prosecuted, and eventually convicted.”

Aiyegbeni, also noted that the re-introduction of ICTN under President Muhammadu Buhari was initially plagued with irregularities, including several anticipatory approvals to various representative companies including an attempt to foist yet another agent on the Nigerian ICTN scheme.

He said upon a comprehensive legal and professional review, President Muhammadu Buhari was advised to cancel all ongoing procurement processes across multiple Federal Ministries, including Finance, Petroleum, and Transport, and to centralise the process under the Nigerian Shippers Council.

“The directive was to engage the technology owners directly through a procurement process, in the best interest of Nigeria”, he added, while stating unequivocally that there was no executive order issued to any company regarding the matter.

“We challenge anyone to produce any documentation, such as a white paper, that proves otherwise,” the statement read in part.

Few weeks ago, a social rights group, the Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER) had condemned the recent contracts awarded by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for oil and gas metering.

CASER in a statement had claimed that the award of the contracts blatantly undermines Nigeria’s national interest and reeks of high-level corruption.

The group in the statement signed by the Director, Advocacy Center, Mr Frank Tietie, had called on President Bola Tinubu, to investigate the matter and mete out appropriate sanctions on offenders.