NNPCL, Mele Kyari deny wrongdoing in Tantita pipeline contract award
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, along with its former CEO Mele Kyari and others, has submitted a counter-affidavit refuting claims made by the Incorporated Trustees of the AGIP Indigenous Contractors Association and others, who accused them of improperly awarding a pipeline surveillance contract to Tantita Security Services Limited in the Niger Delta.
This information was revealed in a court filing made at the Federal High Court in Abuja, as reported by Nairametrics.
In the counter-affidavit sworn by Mr. Suleiman Kuku Usman, NNPCL’s Lead Counsel on Community Claims, the Court was asked to reject the plaintiffs’ claims as “untrue, incorrect, and misconstrued.”
Usman also contended that the submission of letters of interest by the plaintiffs did not grant them any exclusive rights or automatic eligibility for the awarded pipeline surveillance contract.
According to the official, NNPC Ltd, as per Section 53(1), (7) & (8) of the Petroleum Industry Act, is a privately incorporated company under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, enabled to operate its affairs in a commercially viable manner without relying on government funding, required to conduct business as a Companies and Allied Matters Act entity, and obligated to pay all relevant fees, rents, royalties, and taxes to the Government like any other Nigerian company.
The AGIP Indigenous Contractors, who represent the interests of indigenous contractors from oil and gas-producing communities in the Niger Delta, previously filed a lawsuit against NNPCL, Mele Kyari, and others, claiming that the contract for pipeline surveillance awarded to Tantita Security Services Limited resulted from an unlawful bidding process.
Earlier reports indicated that the AGIP Contractors asserted that in 2020, NNPCL and Mele Kyari wrongfully awarded a pipeline surveillance security contract to Tantita Security Services Limited and others without following proper procedures, particularly those outlined in Section 15 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010.
The plaintiffs — including AGIP contractors and various indigenous firms and directors, such as Eliax Bleet Nig Limited, Tamak Plan Oil & Gas Ltd, De-friyo Marine Services Limited, Kalas Agai Nimitenbofa, Chief Taylor Amakiri, and Joclemsco Nig Ltd — allege that despite submitting multiple letters of interest to engage in the bidding process, they were unjustly excluded in contravention of the Act.
They claimed that NNPCL willfully violated pertinent laws by preventing their participation and benefits from the bidding and award process for the surveillance contract, contrary to the stipulations of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act.
Moreover, they asserted that the surveillance security contracts awarded by the 1st and 2nd respondents (NNPCL and Kyari) were conducted in gross violation of the regulations governing the oil and gas sector because of personal interests; these contracts were granted to associates and shared among the employees of the 1st and 2nd respondents, allowing them to choose companies of their preference while sidelining the plaintiffs, who possess the qualifications to undertake such responsibilities as Nigerian firms.
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