.No document to show contractor’s legitimacy, will retrieve it from ministry-BPP

By Levinus Nwabughiogu-Abuja

The Minister of Transport, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi has said that approval was duly secured in the award of the $195.3 million Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure in Nigeria otherwise called Deep Blue to HSL International Limited.

The contract which was launched on June 10, 2021, was expected to deploy modern security and surveillance equipment to secure Nigerian territorial waters up to the Gulf of Guinea.

The project included the specially trained Maritime Security Unit (MSU), with personnel from the Nigerian Navy, Air Force, Army, Police Force, and the Department of State Services.

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Appearing, Tuesday, before the Yusuf Gagdi led House of Representatives Committee on Navy investigating the legitimacy of the contract, Amaechi said that the execution of the contract has reduced piracy and the level of crime on Nigerian waters.

He said: “I thought we have concluded it when we appeared. They saw navy, everybody. The EFCC has invited us and we are back again. We have finished with the EFCC. The report has been submitted to the President. A committee set up by the President and headed by the vice president, was concluded and the report was submitted to Council. There was a committee headed by the Minister for Defence. That was concluded and the reported to Council. So, this should be twice in the national assembly or House of Reps by the same Navy committee, twice by the cabinet, once by EFCC. Maybe by, the Senate will invite us too.

“I worry a lot about what is the special interest in this deep blue project. I was to be in Nairobi last week because the AU gave us an award for it. Our crime rate in the sea has come down drastically. It was so bad. We were number one in the world. When we introduced this, the crime rate has gone down. So, I don’t know why I am going around, pursuing the same issue all over but I will say to you that we followed all the processes.

“The first process is what they called RFB, Request for Proposal which came through an Israeli firm that says they will be paid at the conclusion of the project and we looked at it. The next thing to do after we have finished was to go to the BPP and we went to BPP. That’s why the Chairman said it was bulky.

“If you go Annexure 2, you will see the BPP approval. So,  we have that approval for the certificate of no objection. We have that due process and at the end of that no objection certificate, you go to the cabinet. We went to the cabinet and we have cabinet approval. Subsequently, we have been going through the cabinet approval in implementing this and we have been implementing it by saying that everything that must be bought was bought, cleared, installed and handed over to about 3 or 4 agencies.

“Initially, we should have been under Navy but the reason why we said no in our memo was that the rate at which the crime was committed in the Maritime sector and as becoming a bit unbearable. So, we got in Army and police to take care of the land to the coast. Then we got in the Navy to take care of the water. We got in the Airforce to fly the aircraft. The police work with the army and the DSS to work with intelligence. So, they trained the Nigerian military and the police. Some of the training appeared to be outstanding because, by the time they were to train the police and DSS, they were involved in the elections.

“At the last meet we had, we directed them to commence that training now that the elections are over.

“The other thing to say to you is that beyond the successes, of you look at the attachment, you will the approval by cabinet. The agreement is also attached.

“So, we discharged our responsibility modestly with minimal cost and what I don’t know is about payment because as minister, my responsibility is just to approve up to the cabinet-level. I don’t approve the payment. Once the cabinet is over, then, NIMASA is responsible to implement it. As a supervising minister, I have a special interest in making sure that contracts are delivered because my interest is to make sure that there is security in the water.

“We have reduced the number of attacks that we used to have in the water. That’s what the situation is now. And I want to thank the commission for inviting us to appear before the committee. Thanks very much.”

The Minister also gave a detailed background of how the project was conceptualized as demanded by the Committee.

“I said it was an RFP but this time we didn’t ask them. By the time they came forward when we took over the reins of affairs in government, we were number one 3 in terms of piracy in the world. It was Somali, Gulf of Elem, Gulf of Guinea and we are Gulf of Guinea. In less than 2,3 years, we were now number one. Rampant killings. You heard of the fact that Denmark came to our water and killed two Nigerians and arrested and we protested. It was worst than that. It became so bad that Americans wrote to us that they want to come with their guns, we said no, you can’t into Nigeria because of sovereignty. And they said they won’t come down from the vessel. We said whether you come down or not, the moment you enter our water, you are under our protection. But what they are telling us is that you can’t protect us because you have been having this crime all the time. It got so bad that Europe now had a meeting and decided to send their war vessels.

“At that point, Nigeria had no option but to act and that act, I wrote to the President for an approval to engage them and he approved. We set up a committee headed by NSA, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval, Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Defence State, IGP, DG, SSS. And the end of that assessment, there was a bit of disagreement between us and then, we went back to the President who then removed the NSA and replaced him with the Minister of Defence. It was at the time that we went to the BPP after getting the President’s approval. It was the BPP that gave us approval. That’s what happened”, Amaechi explained.

But in their presentation before the Committee, the Bureau for Public Procurement, BPP which issued the certificate of no objection to the HSL failed to provide evidence showing the legitimacy of the company.

Speaking on behalf of the Director-General, Mamman Ahmadu, the officer who reviewed the procurement, Isaiah Yesefu said that the company was qualified to handle the project.

He was responding to the committee’s concerns with section 16 (4) of the Public Procurement Act which stated certain criteria for the award of contract.

“This procurement came to us through the ministry of transportation in 2017 and it was for the procurement of a contractor to carry out some security equipment and our coastline. Specifically, the project is integrated security of waterways and solutions in favor of HLS international. When it came, there was approval for the engagement of the contract or a request for approval. There is a section of the law that permits so for sourcing and this procurement has a letter from the office of the NSA and office of Mr. President indicating the security nature of the project. So, under that, we approved the use of the direct project. We went through the processes, look at the request that the minister made, documents that were submitted and we were satisfied with it and we issued a certificate of no objection. We submitted the reviewed report that contains the details of our findings.

“The law permits International companies from participating in our procurement. It doesn’t forbid them. So, if they are not on CAC register, it’s not an offence. It is that they are an international company.

“It is not stated that the company must be registered in Nigeria. What is said is that they must possess the capacity to handle the contract not that they must be registered in Nigeria. We are not saying there is a waiver of anything. Procurement is an international thing. A company incorporated outside can do business in Nigeria. There is no law against that.

“The documents that were brought which was the basis for our review was brought in 2017 and when we conclude our reviews, we don’t keep them. We have returned them to the ministry of transportation. So, what we are going to do is write to them to bring those documents. We will try to retrieve them so that we can add it to what you have said and make a secondary submission as you have requested”, he said.