- An NPA order allows a firm, INTELS, to profit from impunity at our ports
The concept of fairness has always been central to the free enterprise system. But the Nigerian ports have waxed astir with a case of palpable unfairness suggestive of legitimised monopoly. This is in the context of a recent directive purportedly handed by the Jonathan administration in its dying days.
According to the directive, the only port concessionaire in the country known as INTELS has been given exclusive rights to handle all vessels with cargoes of oil and gas in its ports in Warri, Onne and Calabar. This implies a monopolistic privilege.
The mysterious order emanated apparently from the desk of the top brass of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) at the behest of the former minister of transport under the Goodluck Jonathan administration. Why should such an order go out of the portals of a minister in a democratic system dedicated to the rule of law, due process and the principle of equality?
The activities of INTELS have generated resentment among port operators in the aftermath of the 2006 ports reforms undertaken under the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration. INTELS alleged monopolistic practices within the oil and gas domain were a part of the reasons for the reforms. The idea was to make the ports free for every vessel or company bringing goods to our shores.
The reforms were sequel to a committee set up by the Obasanjo administration in the interest of free enterprise. The committee was headed by Dr. A.S.P. Sekibo. When it finished its work, the committee’s recommendations were unambiguous. It asked the NPA to “ensure that cargo owners are free to patronise any truck of their choice for the freight of cargo discharged in the Oil and Gas Free Zone,” emphasising that “importers of oil and gas cargo should be free to choose their ports of preference.”
Again, the government has an ongoing agreement with NPA and the Bureau of Public Enterprises designed to create an atmosphere of trust and collegial peace. The contract, in article 18.2, stated that “no change, amendment, or modification of this agreement shall be valid or binding upon parties hereto unless such change, amendment or modification shall be in writing and duly executed by the parties hereto.”
The INTELS monopoly is taking place without any tweaking of the contract based on any meetings or consultation. Barely two years after the 2006 port reforms, the Minister of Transportation, Prince John Okechukwu Emeka, released a directive similar to the one recently unleashed by the Jonathan administration. But the Yar’Adua administration stepped in and restored the rule of law. The former president responded to a flurry of petitions from INTELS’ fellow port operators.
The ports reforms constituted one of the legacies of the Obasanjo tenure, and it is worthy of emulation in compliance with best practices around the world. For the Jonathan administration to have revived this act of lawlessness only underlined some of the capital wrongs of his era.
Oil and gas forms a major plank of the nation’s imports, and for just one company to corral it as though the industry exists for its own profiting is the sort of impunity that this nation should not accept. It runs against every tenet that justice inspires in commerce. Indeed, every port operator does not run the ports for charity. They pay dues to the federal purse, and it will asphyxiate some and invigorate others. That accounted for the port reforms. INTELS is the metaphor of this impunity.
The concept of equality of ports and port operators opens the system to efficiency and choice. Vessel owners and cargo owners will pick ports that work best for them, not only in efficiency but also in reaching their ultimate consumers or customers. What if a port in Warri is forced to handle cargoes intended for Lagos customers? The cost of carrying the goods to Lagos will cost the business in time and money. It negates simple business sense.
The Buhari administration will do well to reverse the order.
“The ports reforms constituted one of the legacies of the Obasanjo tenure, and it is worthy of emulation in compliance with best practices around the world. For the Jonathan administration to have revived this act of lawlessness only underlined some of the capital wrongs of his era. The Buhari administration will do well to reverse the order”.
