There is no maritime security contract between the Nigerian government and Niger Delta warlord, Government Tompolo, the government agency in charge of maritime administration said today.
The clarification was made in a statement by spokeswoman Hajia Lami Tumaka of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA.
It came in the wake of misleading newspaper reports quoting the DG of the agency, Mr. Haruna Baba Jauro defending a ‘security contract’ given to Tompolo, during Jauro’s visit to the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas on 29 September 2015 .
Tumaka said Jauro “was quoted completely out of context”.
“It is instructive to note that Mr. Haruna Jauro did not at any point during the said visit, or at any other forum for that matter, defend ‘Tompolo’s maritime security contract’ because there is no such contract in the first place.
“What the DG said and which should be put on record is that “Global West Vessel Specialists Limited (GWVSL) has an existing Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with NIMASA wherein the vendor’s mandate involves procuring, bunkering and operating platforms on behalf of NIMASA on a Supply, Operate and Transfer (SOT) basis for a 10 year period as approved by the Federal Government in 2012 and it is presently in its third year”.
“According to Mr. Jauro, the vessels, which ownership will revert to NIMASA after the contract period, are manned by officials of NIMASA and personnel of the Nigerian Navy for the enforcement of the Agency’s mandate.
“This is not the same thing with a maritime security contract as many publications have alleged. It is therefore mischievous for anyone to allude that the Director General of NIMASA has defended a maritime security contract being executed by Tompolo on behalf of the Agency.
“The Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Ibas also re-echoed this position at the same event when he said “we (Nigerian Navy) provide security, we arm those ships. The Nigerian Navy is fully manning those boats and we still do”.