The deployment of an electronic system for tracking ship and cargo traffic in Africa’s largest economy has faced significant setbacks due to corruption and internal power struggles, as revealed by leaked documents and insider sources.
This system, designed to provide real-time data on maritime activities, has been hampered by challenges within the organization, hindering its effective implementation and raising concerns about transparency and accountability in the country’s maritime sector.
According to businessday.ng, Asides the billions of naira that could accrue to the Nigerian government in revenue from cargo tracking on the country’s borders, the electronic system known as International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN), also allows Africa’s top oil-producing country to monitor the exact quantity of daily crude oil exports and tame the menace of oil theft.
The ICTN had an initial attempt at take-off during the late Umaru Yar-Adua/ Goodluck administration who approved a contract between the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and an operator named Transport and Port Management System Ltd (TPMS) -Antaser-Afrique.
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However, the scheme was abruptly terminated in October 2011 by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the then minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, who also chaired a presidential committee on ports reform.
Okonjo-Iweala said some importers complained their cargos were already being tracked by the Nigerian Customs Services from origin to destination so there was no reason for the NPA to collect charges on ICTN.
“Upon enquiry, we learned that charges totalled about $6 million. I had never seen this money remitted to the Treasury,” she wrote in her book titled, Fighting Corruption is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines.
“Clearly, the $6 million from the Nigerian Ports Authority from the Cargo Tracking Note not being remitted to the treasury must be going into some influential pockets,” she wrote.
Unremitted revenues
BusinessDay gathered that over €45 million was remitted for onward transmission to Nigeria via TPMS, however, there are allegations the funds were not remitted as expected.
“We remitted a total of €45,590,618 for onward transmission to Nigeria via TPMS. Later on, we discovered that the funds were not remitted as expected,” a leaked Antaser memo sent to the office of managing director of NPA dated 08 January 2016 said.
It added, “We have the transfer evidence and would be ready to tender same on request.”
This development prompted the Belgian maritime firm to float a hundred million capital base of Antaser Nigeria with the intention of working directly with the government of Nigeria.”
Leaked documents from Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), showed discrepancies in revenue from the initial cargo tracking program.
According to the document, the program, which ran from March 2010 to November 2011, generated €16.6 million.
However, concerns were raised regarding missing funds. The federal government was entitled to 60 percent of the revenue, or roughly €10 million. However, documents showed the government only received €6.3 million, leaving a gap of over €3.6 million unaccounted for.
Internal documents from the Ministry of Transport warn of the negative consequences of delaying the cargo tracking system. A memo dated August 26th, 2021, addressed to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), highlights potential losses in revenue, a decline in maritime security, and increased opportunities for cargo tampering and under-declaration.
Power play by high-ranked government officials
BusinessDay’s findings revealed another troubling trend of high-ranking former government officials reportedly engaged in a power struggle to secure control of the lucrative contracts associated with the program.
