How AMCON failed to remit funds to FG after taking over oil rigs belonging to private firm
A petition sent to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the information gathered by The Street Journal, have revealed that heads may roll in Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) over its failure to remit funds to the federal government.
In the past, the house of representatives committee on Finance named AMCON as one of the defaulting ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) which refused to remit their operating surpluses to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) in the last eight years.
AMCON has been claiming to run at a loss year-in year-out, but now that AMCON is making profits from the sale of banks and other businesses, they ought to be followed up and asked for their financial statement and record of their remittances.
This gave us an insight on how AMCON has been a bedrock of corruption for a long time. Other instances are visible in the case of the Oritsetimeyin jack oil rig.
Recall that there were three rigs built for Seawolf Oilfield services (Oritsetimeyin, Onome and Delta queen) at a cost of $508 million dollars in 2013.
However, in November 2017, Selective Marine services was brought in to take over the Oritsetimeyin rig as technical partner to Amcon to manage and operate.
In April 2019, Selective marine services secured a three years contract with Brittania U (a Nigerian company, operates Ajapa Oil field in Warri Delta State), contract cost at $50,000 per day.
This being established, the most disturbing and questionable situation is that in the contract agreement between Selective marine services a SPV (Special purpose vehicle) named ALPHAREA, was mentioned as the owner of the jack up rig (Oritsetimeyin).
It’s worthy to know the owners and the directors of this company.
More alarming is the fact that throughout the period of the contract, no evidence of monetary remittance to the vault of AMCON.
And even more worrisome is that the same company was declared the winner and the buyer of Oritsetimeyin when it was auctioned September last year.
There’s equally no evidence of 10 percent deposit nor the final payment nor the public was notified of the final winner of the rig.
According to the regulations from AMCON guiding the auction of the rig that whoever that declare money should make final payment in 30 days after the deposit of 10 percent.
Astonishingly, up till now, Selective Marine Services is yet to make the payment.
Asides that, the contract agreement between AMCON and Selective marine services expired December last year, yet Selective marine is still the manager of the rig.
Several letters were written to Selective marine services from AMCON, requesting for reconciliation of accounts without success, yet in September, Selective Marine services secured another contract with NIGDEL United oil company plc at a cost of $65,000 daily.
The rig was moved from BU, in Warri, Delta State to NIGDEL location, at Olobia well number two, in Yenogoa, Bayelsa State.
Among other criminal activities of the operators of Selective marine services includes:
A. BANKING IN NIGERIA: Maintain and operate an account with Zenith Bank PLC with a name EMOJEVWE UKUEKU, a Nigerian lady who’s never given a signatory to the account and has been relieved of job since. The account is an obvious decoy used to siphon the money to Dubai.
B. TAX: No evidence of any form of tax payment to the neither Federal Government nor Lagos State.
C. Insurance fraud: AMCON, have written severally to the management of SELECTIVE MARINE SERVICES, to indemnify back to AMCON the sum of $223,163 for insurance without success.
D.That SELECTIVE MARINE SERVICES is yet to make payment of $425,000 (Four Hundred and Twenty Five Thousand Dollars) to Nigeria Port Authority.
E. LOCAL CONTENT: They continue to breach the local content ACT, by replacing competent Nigerians with the Indians whose competency are questionable.
F. IMMIGRATION: Most of the Indians replacing the Nigerians as Crew on board neither have work or residential permit.
We advice that the dubious actions being engaged by AMCON be stopped from fraudulent sale of the rig.
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