Over a multimillion-dollar project, the House of Representatives has asked explanations from the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and the Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Bashir Jamoh.
According to Anaedoonline.ng, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure in Nigeria, also known as the Deep Blue Project, on June 11, 2021.
Last year, the project was launched at the ENL Terminal in Apapa Port, Lagos State.
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The Bureau of Public Procurement reported to the lower chamber of Nigeria’s bicameral National Assembly Committee on Navy that it does not have the documents presented by HSL International Limited, which the Federal Government awarded the ‘Deep Blue Project’ contract before the firm was issued a Certificate of No Objection, barely a year after the project’s inauguration.
According to Anaedoonline.ng, BPP revealed in a statement dated Tuesday that the documentation on HSL International Limited were returned to the Ministry of Transportation after the certificate was provided to the firm.
The deal is stated to be valued $214,830,000, including $195,300,000 for the main contract and an extra $19,530,000 for ‘Management Training Consideration’ that NIMASA agreed to pay to HSL.
Meanwhile, the Corporate Affairs Commission informed the MPs during the committee’s last investigation session on March 9, 2022, that HSL International Limited was not registered with it.
The MPs were shocked, according to the committee’s Chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, when the CAC said it didn’t have HSL on its records and asked Amaechi and Jamoh to come forward and present information about the firm.
However, during Amaechi’s presentation yesterday, the committee remained silent on the subject, instead grilling BPP officials on the business.
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The MPs added that in order for the BPP to provide a Certificate of No Objection, Section 16 of the Public Procurement Act must be satisfied, particularly by a contractor.
According to Gagdi, one of the committee’s criteria of reference was to examine the contract agreement and its constitutionality.
The Bureau of Public Procurement’s Director of Agriculture and Water Resources, Isaiah Yesufu, who the DG said was the officer who reviewed the procurement processes leading to the issuance of the project’s certificate, recalled that the request came to the bureau through the Ministry of Transport in 2017.
Yesufu said the request was for HSL International Limited to carry out the provision of some security equipment for the coastlines. He also disclosed that the request was for direct procurement due to the security nature of the project, stressing that the law permits single sourcing for such projects.
He said, “Under the law, there is a section that permits the use of direct procurement under the security-related issues and this procurement had a letter from the Office of the National Security Adviser and Office of the President indicating the security nature of the project. Under that, we approved the use of direct procurement.
“We went through the processes; we looked at the request that the ministry made, we looked at documents that were submitted. We were satisfied with them and we issued the Certificate of No Objection. We submitted the review report which contains the details of our findings.”
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Gagdi also stated that part of the mandate is the legitimacy of the contract.
“We expect the BPP to tell us reasons why Certificate of No Objection was issued in respect of this contract,” he said.
The chairman went on to read CAC’s letter to the committee denying knowledge of HSL International Limited. “They did not say no but said they did not have the records. You will give us what the ministry sent to you. Give us the summary in one minute. We investigated the status of this company; maybe we are the ones that are committing the errors. Give us those things,” he partly said.
In his reaction, Yesufu said, “The issue of a company being on CAC register; if it is an international company, the law does not exclude them from participating in procurement in Nigeria. There is what we call international bidding; it is not only Nigerian companies, the law permits international companies to participate in our procurement, it does not forbid them. If they are not on the CAC register, it is not an offence; it is just that they are an international company.”
According to the BPP director, the company met all the conditions prescribed by Section 16(6) of the PPA.
The lawmakers then asked why the BPP failed to forward evidence that HSL had the financial capacity and met the other requirements listed in Section 16(6) of the Act, based on which the bureau issued the certificate.
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Yesufu said, “First of all, the documents that were brought, which was the basis for our review, were brought in 2017. And when we conclude our reviews, we don’t keep them; we have returned them to e Ministry of Transportation. What we are going to do is (that) we are going to write to them to bring those documents back. We will not try to retrieve them.”
Members of the committee frowned at the comment, asking why the BPP did not keep copies of the document.
The Chairman of the committee, in his ruling, asked the BPP to produce the documents next week.
Earlier in his presentation, Amaechi stated that the project followed due process while all conditions prescribed by the various laws were met. He said after the publication of ‘Request for Proposal’, the BPP was approached which issued approval for Certificate of No Objection.
The minister also said the project was taken to the Federal Executive Council and it was approved. “Subsequently, we have been going through the cabinet approval in implementing this. And we have implemented it by saying that everything that was to be bought was bought, cleared, installed and handed over to about three or four agencies,” he added.
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He further said, “What I don’t know is about payment because as a minister, my responsibility is just to approve up to the cabinet-level. After that, NIMASA is responsible for implementing it. As the supervising minister, I have a special interest in making sure that the contracts are delivered because my interest is to ensure that there is security on the waters.
“So far, there is security as it pertains to merchant ships. At least, we have reduced the number of attacks that we used to have on the waters. That is what the situation is now.”
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