Firm Heads To Court Over $5.5m Consultancy Agreement Dispute

An indigenous company, Maratam Limited has approached a High Court of Justice of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to compel Kepheren Business Limited and Goldman and Demsky to pay the sum of $5.5m being an outstanding indebtedness to the company with regards to a tripartite consultancy agreement between them.

In the suit marked FCT/HC/CV/1741/2023, the claimant (Maratam Limited) the defendants which include Hajiya Nene Lanval, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi are in breach of the contractual agreement for the collection of offshore oil terminal dues for the NPA.

Keprehen Business Ltd is a company jointly owned by Senator Hajiya Ireti Kingibe and Mr Adetunji Adebayo. Hajiya Nene Lanval is the junior sister of Senator Hajiya Ireti Kingibe.

On its part, Maratam Ltd is a company owned by erstwhile information Minister, Chief Edwin Clark, but managed by his son Ibrahim Clark.

Meanwhile, Justice Abubakar Idris has struck out the name of the 4th defendant (NPA) from the suit as the claimant has not disclosed any cause of action against it.

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In his ruling on the preliminary objection by the NPA, Justice Idris said, “on the whole, the preliminary objection succeeds with the failure to disclose a reasonable cause of action against the 4th defendant.

“The name of the 4th defendant is accordingly struck out,”.

The court documents showed that on December 1, 2011, the claimant, Kepheren Business Limited, Goldman, and Demsky (1st and 2nd defendants) willingly entered into a tripartite consultancy agreement to work together on the award and subsequent execution of contracts for the provision of crude oil (monitoring at offshore terminals and collection of offshore terminal dues for the Nigeria Ports Authority).

As a result of the claimant’s and the first and second defendants’ collaborative efforts, the fourth defendant (NPA) issued the first defendant an award of contract with a letter dated December 5, 2011, appointing the first defendant as the fourth defendant’s agent for the collection of Oil Terminal Dues (OTD) for the Bonny/Port Harcourt pilotage district for a period of 10 years effective January 1, 2012.

It is the case of the claimant that by clauses 1(2), (4) and 2 (d) of the tripartite consultancy agreement, it is entitled to a prompt payment of a consultancy commission fee of 35 percent of every profit accruable to the 1st defendant in pursuance of the award and subsequent execution of the contract for the collection of offshore oil terminal dues for the 4th defendant throughout the duration of the execution of the contract.