Why FG’s reinstatement of Intels won’t benefit me – Atiku Abubakar
Why FG’s reinstatement of Intels won’t benefit me – Atiku Abubakar
Following the Federal Government’s reinstatement of Intels Nigeria Limited to operate boat service operations in the Lagos pilotage district, former Vice President and the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, has denied being a beneficiary to the contract after selling his shares in January 2021.
A reinstatement memo made available to shipping companies through the berthing meeting committee and signed by Charles Okaga, port manager of Lagos Ports Complex (LPC), dated November 30, 2023, the federal government announced the reinstatement of Intels as the monitoring provider for the Authority’s service boat operations in the pilotage districts.
The presidential directive revealed that the consent of the judgment of the Federal High Court, Lagos dated 21 September, extended the service boat operations contract between it and Intels Nigeria Limited.
According to the letter, the authority and the federal government drive to increase revenue from service boat operations, hence Messrs Intels Nigeria Limited has been directed to resume service immediately.
Atiku Abubakar, reacting to reports that he is a beneficiary of the decision to rescind the contract cancellation between Intels and the federal government, said in a post via X on Sunday that he sold his shares in Intels, which he co-founded in December 2020 to the parent company, Orlean Investment Group, and made his exit from the company public in January 2021.
He said his divestment from the company had not been reversed.
He stressed that he is not a beneficiary of the reinstatement of the boat pilotage monitoring business that the federal government took away from Intels.
“In January 2021, I made public the sale of my shares in Integrated Logistic Services Nigeria Limited (Intels) to Orlean Investment Group, the parent company of Intels.
“The phased sale of those shares that commenced in 2018 peaked in December 2020. Intels also made public my exit from the oil and gas logistics company, meaning that a different entity now owns those shares I sold.
“My divestment from the company that I co-founded has not been reversed. Consequently, I cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be a beneficiary of the reinstatement of the boat pilotage monitoring business that was taken away from Intels by the federal government.
“Therefore, the insinuation that I am a beneficiary of the decision to rescind the cancellation of the contract between Intels and the federal government is untrue and should be seen for what it is: mischief,” Atiku tweeted on X.