Antaser Nigeria Limited/Antaser Afrique Bvba, one of the five companies allegedly used by top Nigerian government officials to overrule former President Muhammadu Buhari’s Executive Order and hijack the International Cargo Tracking Note Scheme contract, has debunked the allegation.
In a rejoinder signed by Emmanuel Aiyegbeni, General Manager of Corporate Communications, the company denied allegations of hijacking the International Cargo Tracking Note Scheme contract.
The rebuttal comes after a report by an online newspaper, citing human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), alleging that top Nigerian government officials disregarded former President Buhari’s Executive Order and awarded the contract to five companies.
Media reports had quoted the then Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, as announcing five companies that the International Cargo Tracking Note Scheme contract was awarded to, including Antaser Nigeria Limited/Antaser Afrique Bvba.
“The consortium will be led by the technical partner, Antaser Afrique BVBA, a Belgium-based company. The other local companies are MSSRS Velocity logistics and marine services, Saham’s Crystal Investments Limited, Winslow Logistics Limited and Equal Logistics Limited.
“The concession is for a period of 15 years to enable the investors to recoup their investments between years 12 and 15. It is expected that this scheme will generate revenues to the federal government ranging from about $90m per annum to a peak of about $235m per annum,” the then minister was quoted as saying.
However, Falana claimed the Nigerian government was denied a revenue of $500 million by a group of corrupt public officers who allegedly hijacked the contract.
But, in its reaction to the human rights lawyer’s claim, Antaser Nigeria Limited/Antaser Afrique Bvba said that Falana’s statements may have been made in error, likely due to being misinformed regarding pertinent facts in the matter.
The rejoinder read, “Our attention has been drawn to a publication by Sahara Reporters on August 11, 2024, attributing allegations to Mr. Femi Falana SAN, concerning the purported lack of due process and hijack in awarding the International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN) project to Antaser Nigeria Limited/Antaser Afrique Bvba, in a consortium with four other companies.
“We categorically refute these allegations and present the following verifiable facts.
“As these allegations were attributed to Mr. Femi Falana SAN, the respected advocate for social justice, we believe that his statements may have been made in error, likely due to being misinformed regarding pertinent facts in the matter.
“In light of this, and given the facts we have shared hereunder, we encourage the learned SAN, along with Sahara Reporters, 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.
“We hereby wish to state the facts as follows: Clarification of TPMS Engagement and Termination: The Transport and Port Management System (TPMS) was engaged by the Nigerian Ports Authority in 2010 for the operation of ICTN.
“This engagement was initially suspended due to the ongoing port reform chaired by the then Minister of Finance/Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
“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.”
It said the re-introduction of ICTN under President 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.”
It continued, “Upon comprehensive legal and professional review, President Buhari was advised to cancel all ongoing procurement processes across multiple Federal Ministries, including Finance, Petroleum, and Transport, and to centralize 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.
“Challenge to Claims of Executive Order: We unequivocally state that no executive order was issued to any company regarding this matter. We challenge anyone to produce any documentation, such as a white paper, that proves otherwise.
“Antaser Nigeria’s Legitimate Award: The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Shippers Council, invited Antaser Nigeria Limited via direct procurement to implement the ICTN scheme, including crude oil exports, for 15 years on a “No Cure, No Pay” basis, with a 60:40 revenue-sharing ratio favoring the Federal Government.
“To date, our bid proposal remains the only valid ICTN scheme award, duly approved by all relevant government agencies and the Federal Executive Council.”
Antaser Afrique Bvba said in collaboration with its Nigerian subsidiary, it pioneered the Electronic Cargo Tracking Note, offering a global network to monitor real-time trade information from origin to destination.
Regarding the contract’s alignment with Nigeria’s needs, the company said, “We fully agree with Mr. Falana SAN on the urgency of implementing the ICTN scheme in Nigeria, given its numerous benefits, including: Checking the importation of arms, ammunition, and other banned substances; preventing under-declaration and over-declaration of goods; addressing under-invoicing and over-invoicing of goods, D: Curtailing corporate oil theft and other malfeasance in the petroleum industry; providing real-time statistics for economic planning; significantly increasing government revenue.”
“Consortium and Local Content Contribution:The four other companies in the consortium—Velocity Logistics Ltd, Winslow Logistics Ltd, Equal Logistics Ltd, and Sahams Crystal Investment Ltd—were selected solely to provide local content support services,” it added.
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