From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa

Whistleblowers under the auspices of the Citizens Whistleblowers Coalition (CWC) have sent a petition to President Bola Tinubu, urging him to order an investigation into the alleged unfair business practices of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).

The coalition, in the petition signed by its Programme Officer, Nafiu Ibrahim; Officer Communication and Liaison, Ella Susan and Officer, Socio-Economic Rights, Dodeye Okoi Arikpo, appealed to the President to probe MSC for alleged economic sabotage and judicial subversion.

Speaking in Port Harcourt recently, the whistleblowers said the probe should particularly be centered on MSC practices against Nigerian shippers, including unfair container deposit charges, illegal detention of shipments, and unfair demurrage charges.

The stakeholders said they resorted to writing the petition after MSC refused to honour the National Assembly’s invitations, disregarded the Minister of Blue Economy’s memo on container deposit charges, and insisted on an exclusive jurisdiction clause that required all disputes in Nigeria to be litigated in London.

The petitioners insisted that MSC’s unfair business practices directly impacted the Nigerian economy and had led to high costs of goods and services being passed on to the poor masses by importers.

They explained that the petition became important because they believed that the company’s practices were contrary to several provisions of the Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission Act, the constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria and other  acts of the National Assembly.

They said: “We are committed to combating corruption and unfair business practices in all its forms while advocating for good governance so as to create a more just, egalitarian and equitable society.

“We write to bring to your kind attention the ill treatment and oppression of Nigerians in the hands of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), a shipping company operating in Nigeria. Without doubt, Nigeria is generally an import dependent country as it relies largely on the importation of goods to fuel her economy.

“According to World Bank data, Nigeria’s import to GDP ratio is around 12%, and MSC, being the biggest shipping line in the world, accounts for the majority of the imports into Nigeria.

“We note however, that over the years MSC has perpetrated unfair business practices against Nigeria and Nigerian shippers. Some of the practices include unfair container deposit charges, illegal and unlawful detention of shipments contrary to Nigeria laws, unfair demurrage charges, obnoxious detention charges, and unfair, unjust and unreasonable clauses.

“Most of the business practices of MSC are contrary to several provisions of the Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission Act. MSC’s ill treatment of Nigerians directly impacts on the economy as it leads to high cost of goods and services in Nigeria.

“It is on record that several complaints have been raised by many companies and groups in Nigeria. However, MSC continues to perpetrate its unfair practices.

“Surprisingly, the Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), primarily charged under the FCCPA with policing these unfair practices, has remained silent and failed to investigate and bring MSC to book.

“Notably, the unfair container deposit charges running into billions of naira brought about the intervention by the Minister of Blue Economy who directed a replacement of the container deposit fee with an indemnity scheme, but MSC has refused to implement this indemnity scheme but has instead continued to enforce its unscrupulous container charges.”

The petitioners bemoaned an exclusive jurisdiction clause in MSC’s Bill of Lading, which required all disputes against the company to be litigated in the High Court in London, United Kingdom.

The coalition argued that such a clause was oppressive and unreasonable and had imposed hardship on Nigerian shippers, who were expected to incur significant expenses to litigate disputes in London.

They said: “One of the most oppressive and unfair business practices of MSC which recently came to light is an obscure exclusive jurisdiction clause in MSC Bill of Lading which practically places MSC beyond the reach of Nigerian laws and the Nigerian court system for any goods shipped to Nigeria.

“MSC’s Bill of Lading which contains the exclusive jurisdiction clause means that Nigerian shippers cannot sue MSC in Nigeria and every dispute against MSC must be litigated in the High Court in London, United Kingdom. In other words, the obscure exclusive jurisdiction clause is to the effect that MSC cannot be sued in Nigeria”.

The petitioners made a reference to the recent decision of the London High Court in Case No: CL-2024-000700, saying it further confirmed MSC’s oppression of Nigerians.

“In that case, MSC obtained an anti-suit injunction against a Nigerian company, Interglobal Ltd, relying on the exclusive jurisdiction clause in its Bill of Lading”, they said.

The whistleblowers appealed to Tinubu   to intervene and act decisively to address MSC’s unfair business practices, urging the government to conduct a full investigation of MSC and call the company to order.

They insisted that investigation should focus on alleged economic sabotage, tax evasion, and regulatory violations, demanding that MSC should be compelled to respect Nigerian laws and the court system, particularly S20 of the Admiralty Jurisdiction Act, which vests jurisdiction in the Federal High Court for admiralty matters connected with Nigeria.

They also appealed to Tinubu to mandate the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to audit MSC’s declared revenues and assess the accuracy of its tax remittances, given the company’s significant revenue generation in Nigeria.

By Eze Okechukwu, Abuja

The Senate through its Committee on Public Accounts, yesterday gave the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) three weeks to respond to queries raised against it in the Audit Reports of 2017 to 2023, alleging unaccountability of N210trillion.

This is as the Committee chaired by Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu (SDP, Nasarawa West) insisted that the amount in question was neither stolen or missing, but yet to be accounted for.

However, the three weeks window for explanations was given to the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Engineer Bayo Ojulari after he finally honoured the senate invitation after four previous failures, with an unreserved apology which the senate accepted.

Ojulari had after his apology to the Committee, explained to its members that for satisfactory response from him on the 19 queries raised, he needed more time to dig into the technicalities and perspectives of the issues raised.

” I’m just over 100 days in office as the GCEO of NNPCL. Please I will need time to do further digging, given the perspectives I have heard now into the issues. This is coming in the midst of a huge national assignment. Your explanation has now changed my perspective about the subject matter.

” I need to understand the issues myself so I can respond appropriately. I will get a team to help me get the details properly reconciled, so we can work to provide answers to the queries. 

” In doing this, I will surely engage the external auditors and other relevant groups “, he said.

Though he requested for four weeks, the Committee granted him three weeks which according to him is enough for the response expected from NNPCL.

Explaining the nitty gritty of the queries to the NNPCL GCEO, Senator Wadada said the N210trillion unaccounted for were in two components of N103trillion liabilities and N107trillion assets which according to him must be accounted for.

“There are none out of the 18 or 19 questions we have on NNPCL from us as a Committee, neither did it come from the Executive or Judiciary. They are questions extracted from the audited financial statement of the NNPCL by the Auditor General for the period spanning 2017 to 2023.

” Also this Committee had not at any time said the N210trillion in question as far as the queries are concerned was stolen or missing. What the Committee is doing is investigation on queries raised in the report, in line with its constitutional mandate.

” Therefore , the Committee is giving NNPCL three weeks to forward written responses to it on all the 19 queries after which the GCEO will be invited along with other management staff for physical appearance and defence”, he said.

Earlier before the ruling of the Chairman, virtually all members of the Committee spoke on the seriousness of the issues at stake but expressed optimism that the GCEO will clear the air on them.

Specifically, Senator Victor Umeh ( LP, Anambra Central) said : ” We are happy to have you because we have been waiting for you. One thing that must be stated clearly is that we need transparency, and NNPCL is in possession of Nigeria’s economic prosperity”.

Senator Babangida Hussaini ( APC, Jigawa North West ) in his comments said there was need for NNPCL management team to look into the issues raised since governance is a continuum, stressing that the issues were germane and critical.

But another member of the Committee, Senator Tony Nwoye (LP, Anambra North)said ” It is very important and germane to give them ( NNPCL) fair hearing. Maybe the audited report is not correct”.

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…..says our killers are in Nasarwa State 

From Attah Ede Makurdi 

The Paramount Ruler of the Tor Tiv nation Orcivirigh Prof James  Ayatse, has emphatically postulated that the terrorists attacking Benue innocent citizens come from Nasarwa State and after massively killing the people withdraw  back to Nasarawa State

The Begha u Tiv who disclosed this to the Nigerian First Lady at Government House Makurdi today during the condolence visit to the state described the condolence visit of the Nigerian First Lady and wife of the President Mrs Oluremi Tinubu as distinct.

He said that the first lady coming to the state after the visit of her husband following the aftermath of gruesome murder of over two hundred people at Yelewata is a demonstration of a great caring mother of the nation and a pillar of support to the President and all Nigerians.

The Tor Tiv maintained that her visit at the material time has provided additional comfort in consoling the bereaved people of Benue State stressing that the two visits by President Tinubu and his wife was a deep demonstration of their commitment towards the protection of lives and property of Nigerian citizens.

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