By Ken Afor
Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, has said that he is not a beneficiary of the federal government’s reinstatement of Integrated Logistic Services Nigeria Limited boat pilotage oversight venture.
This trails a notice dated November 30 and signed by Charles Okaga, the Port Manager for the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), informing all shipping companies the reinstatement of Intels as the agency’s service boat operation monitoring provider across the pilotage districts.
“This is to kindly inform you that sequel to the Presidential Directives dated 18th August 2023 and the consent Judgment of the Federal High Court, Lagos dated 21st of September 2023, the Authority has extended the Service Boat Operation Contract between it and Intels Nigeria Limited,” according to the notice.
“Further to the above and to support the Authority’s and Federal Government’s drive to increase revenue generation from the Service Boat Operations, Messrs. Intels Nigeria Limited has been directed to resume services immediately. This is in line with the terms of the extended contract contained in the Managing Agency Agreement conveying the scope of Services, in addition to the obligations of the Agent.”
However, some Nigerians have claimed that President Bola Tinubu reinstated the Former Vice President’s business in Intel.
But Atiku, in a statement released on his official Facebook page on Sunday, refuted this claim, saying he sold his shares in Intel to Orlean Investment Group, the parent company of Intels, in January 2021.
According to the former vice president, while admitting that he co-founded the company insisted that he has no business whatsoever with Intels Nigeria Limited as widely alleged.
“The phased sale of those shares that commenced in 2018 peaked in December 2020. Intels also made public my exit from the oil and gas logistics company, meaning that a different entity now owns those shares I sold.
“My divestment from the company that I co-founded has not been reversed. Consequently, I cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be a beneficiary of the reinstatement of the boat pilotage monitoring business that was taken away from Intels by the Federal Government,” he added.
Atiku further said that the suggestion that he is the beneficiary of Intels reinstatement by the government by some Nigerians was merely mischievous.
