Jonathan Awards N15Billion Contract To Ex-Niger Delta Militant, Tompolo

*The Dirty Deals In NIMASA

President Goodluck Jonathan's award of a maritime contract worth $103.4 million to ex-Niger Delta militant, Government Ekpumopolo, a.k.a Tompolo has caused some disquiet.

The contract, which came through a memo from the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency, NIMASA, was approved by the Federal Executive Council, FEC on 5 January, 2012. The memo was titled, “Award of Contract for the Strategic Concessioning Partnership with NIMASA to Provide Platforms for Tracking Ships and Cargoes, Enforce Regulatory Compliance and Surveillance Of The Entire Nigerian Maritime Domain,” and signed by NIMASA Director-General, Ziadeke Akpobolokemi.

Tompolo's company, Messrs Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria Limited, GWVSL was chosen as the preferred company for the 10-year concession agreement. The terms of the concessioning is renewable for a two term of five years. According to Akpobolokemi, GWVSL will provide platforms for effective policing of Nigeria's maritime domain and ensure compliance with international maritime conventions on vessels and ships voyaging the country's waters.

It also claimed that the concessionaire would help the federal government to enforce the cabotage law and collect levies on its behalf. NIMASA's projection shows that about N124 billion is expected to be generated in revenue to the federal government by GWVSL. Akpobolokemi said the Public-Private Partnership with Tompolo's company was necessary because the federal government could not bear the cost of the project.

President Jonathan,  in a memo dated 9 November, 2011, with Ref. No. PRES/99/MT/61 had approved the contract. Clearly, his approval predated the FEC's. The president further directed the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, ICRC and to ensure that a business case is presented to FEC on the contract.

Jonathan similarly directed the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Mohammed Adoke to vet the agreement. In the same vein, the president forwarded the memo to the National Assembly, urging it to replace it with an earlier memo submitted by late President Umaru Yar'Adua. Yar'Adua's memo was to create a coastal guard, comprising all security agencies, to man the country's maritime domain. But, President Jonathan's memo was meant to hand over the function despite its national security nature solely to Tompolo.

The speed at which the president approved the contract has raised questions within the political higher ups and players in the sector. Some highly placed northerners were said to have frowned at the president's decision.

The northern leaders alleged the president of secretly pursuing an ethnic agenda to exclusively hand the oil sector to his kinsmen. They wondered why such a sensitive contract that borders on national security be handed to a private company.

The Federal Government was equally condemned for not putting its foot down on the revenue generation. it wondered if the concessionaire would keep the huge accruals even if it met its target in one month of its operation.

The disenchanted leaders cited the abrupt deployment of former Minister of Transport, Yessuf Sulaiman to the ministry of sports for querying NIMASA DG, Akpobolokemi. Suleiman and Akpobolokemi were at loggerheads over the latter's handling of the agency affairs. An instance was reported in which Suleiman queried Akpobokemi for paying N49million daily to Tompolo's company. The money grossed over N250million monthly. Akpobolokemi justified the payment, claiming that it was payment for five vessels hired from Tompolo's company by the agency. It was even alleged that Tompolo ordered the redeployment of Yessuf Suleiman, while the president merely effected it.  Before his redeployment, Akpobolokemi reportedly stormed Suleiman's office with armed Niger Delta militants and demanded to see the erstwhile minister at all cost.

Last year, also, a pressure group, the Maritime Stakeholders Consultative Forum, sent an open letter to President Jonathan stating a litany of sins against Akpobolokemi. The petition was signed on behalf of the group by one Barrister Ezekiel Princewill. 

The major allegation against Akpobolokemi by the aggrieved group was the N49.7million paid to Tompolo daily. 

 The connection between the president, and Akpobolokemi on the concessioning may well be beyond being kinsmen. Sources have attributed Tompolo's nomination of Akpobolokemi's for the  NIMASA job as reason  for his loyalty to the ex- militant.