A former Director of Operations at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Captain Warredi Enisuoh, has revealed how he led the campaign against the refusal of the Nigerian Liquefied and Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) to pay appropriate taxes and levies in 2013, and ultimately changed the financial fortunes of the maritime safety agency.
Speaking excl;usively with the Nigerian Tribune, Captain Enisuoh stated that with that singular act, NIMASA currently collects nothing less than $11m from the NLNG as statutory payment. According to the former NIMASA Director, “I was not even in the country when NIMASA started kicking against the NLNG for not paying statutory taxes for carrying out businesses in the nation’s territorial waters.
“NIMASA was in court with NLNG before I came. It was when I came that I asked the then NIMASA management to take the case out of court and let us handle it headlong. I told the former NIMASA DG that as the regulator, there is no need to be in court with NLNG. So, we took the case out of court and faced it headlong. At the moment, NIMASA gets nothing less than $11million because of that action that I took.
“I didn’t spend much time in decision making at NIMASA, but the few period I was making decision on behalf of the agency, I made tough decisions that even the current NIMASA management are benefiting from. Tell me, where will NIMASA have got money to pay over 80 Directors today if not for the tough decisions that we made back then?
“Now, NIMASA is doing promotions as at when due because the agency makes more revenue to pay all those promoted. Have you ever asked why previous Director Generals of the agency couldn’t promote people as at when due? It was because the income generation of the agency was very low back then. Now, NIMASA is benefiting from the sacrifices of some of us back then to raise the income of the agency.
“In Shipping Development department of NIMASA, we put structures in place to increase the agency’s revenue; and it is that same structure that is still being followed as of today. You can go to NIMASA to verify.
“Aside NLNG, do you know how many companies were not paying NIMASA before I came onboard and nobody went after them. Some people were carrying out huge racketeering back then. What they do then is to open a different company under NIMASA, and open another company under the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). Once they know that NIMASA won’t grant them license for operations again due to huge debt profile, they will now use the company opened under NPA to come and take clearance in NIMASA. The racketing was that huge back then.”
When asked if he is now talking because he is nio longer in NIMASA, the former Director of Operations stated that, “For those criticizing me that it’s because I am no longer in NIMASA that I am now talking, for their information, I am not out of NIMASA. I am still in NIMASA because there is no letter terminating my appointment at the agency.
“I was only asked to step-aside due to some petitions written by some people. I was asked to step aside for investigation to be done on those petitions. If anybody tells you that I am no longer in NIMASA, ask them to show you the letter terminating my appointment at the agency? If government sacks somebody, won’t they give the person a letter to go? I was only framed up by some people who were not benefiting from the system as at then, and was asked to step aside for investigations to take place.
“However, since 2015 that I was asked to step aside, we have not heard anything concerning the court case of investigation of the petitions against me.”