$3.8b Project fuels Intels, LADOL dispute

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The outgoing Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Habib Abdullahi has identified the $3.8billion Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO)project as the major factor responsible for the ongoing face-off between Integrated Logistics Services (Intels) and Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL)
  Abdullahi in a chat on Saturday, July 9th, 2016, three days before his removal from office was made public explained that the dispute between the two companies if not handled properly is capable of diverting foreign investments recorded in the maritime sector to other countries.
 He also used the opportunity to dismiss allegation of bias leveled againt him in some quarters.
  Abdullahi said:“I’m guided by national interest. The contract is at the centre of the dispute. This is a private project. An open bid was conducted. A winner emerged.  The idea of if I don’t get it nobody else will is wrong”.
  Dismissing allegations of bias leveled against him, Abdullahi said: “I don’t have any personal interest in that project. I’m guided by national interest. All the decisions we took concerning the project are in national interest. We did not reverse ourselves. Some decisions were taken in the past based on wrong information.
  “A letter from BPE was forged. NPA wrote to BPE and was properly guided. How can you say all Oil & Gas related cargoes must go to a particular place? You say a particular place is not suitable for a particular project, yet, you are putting up investment at that location for a similar project?
  Abdullahi, who spoke on sundary issues explained that NPA’s major priority now is to increase revenue and support effort of the Federal Government to diversify the economy and create numerous jobs for Nigerians.
 According to him, the EGINA project will create a lot of jobs for Nigerians when completed.
   The $3.8 billion platform otherwise known as Egina project was awarded to Samsung Heavy Industry (SHI) in 2013 to build a world class oil production platform in Nigeria with LADOL  acting as the local content partner.
  Expressing delight at the  indigenous owned facility which has so far consumed $600million in local content input recently, the Comptroller General of Customs, Col Hameed  Alli observed that for an indigenous investor to take such bold step amid the risk in undertaking such ventures, the project must be appreciated by the presidency.
  He said: “I have come and I have seen. They say ‘seeing is believing’. I will take the message to President Muhammadu Buhari whom I’m sure will be impressed if he gets to know what you are doing here. The President is interested more so that you are the first people that are doing this kind of project in West Africa…and to say that your organization is owned by Nigerians, it is amazing!
“With what you are doing here, I have no doubt that government will continue to support and encourage you because the sky is the limit. Any government will be glad to support an entity such as this that will put us (Nigeria) at par with other industrially developed countries of the world
“Not too many of our indigenous investors can take the risk as you have done,  am happy to be here, and the Nigeria Customs Service is also glad that you are generating revenue into government coffers through your activities here” he said.
*Contact Editor through Citybusinessnews@yahoo.com
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