The termination of boats pilotage monitoring and supervision contract with INTELS Nigeria Limited will not erase jobs, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director, Hadiza Usman, has said.
Speaking in Lagos on Monday, Usman explained that a new company charged with the responsibilities of providing the service will employ the workers.
Usman said: “How will the termination of the contract lead to job losses? Any company that takes over from INTELS will employ the workers to do the job”.
She said the contract was terminated on the advice of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Malam Abubakar Malami.
According to her, the legal advice was contained in an AGF’s letter dated Sept. 27, 2017, which was a response to NPA’s May 31, 2017 letter in which it sought clarity on the matter.
Usman said that she had raised letters and held several meetings with INTELS management to comply with the Federal Government’s directive on the Treasury Single Account since she assumed office 15 months ago.
Usman added: “They maintained their stand not to make payment to NPA. They want to deduct 28 percent commission and other costs.
“NPA says a TSA account has been opened and that at the end of the month, there will be reconciliation of accounts but INTELS refused.
“Will I spend 15 months talking to a company to comply with the constitution of the country?” she asked.
Meanwhile, the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) has denied shutting INTELS office in Onne, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State over tax evasion.
In a statement, FIRS said: “What we did was that our team pasted a non-compliance sticker on the company’s premises.
“Such stickers are always pasted on the premises of companies that have not been complying with the company’s tax obligations: (Value Added Tax Act Cap VI, and Companies Income Tax, CIT Cap C21, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2014, & Other Tax Laws.
