The contract award has reportedly not complied with available extant rules in the contract award.
The NNPC, on September 26, 2018, it was gathered, reportedly approved the contract for the security surveillance of the 87 kilometres Trans-Forcados Pipeline (TFP) to Ocean Marine Solution Ltd, at $18.48 million.
The terms of reference of the contract were reportedly meant to last for five renewable months, in addition with some other conditions which spelt out penalties in case of loss of products or breaches to parts of the length of the pipeline.
Issues brewing tension over the contract award include an alleged arbitrary and unexplained inflation of the contract sum by those concerned with due diligence in governance, as regards the nation’s oil and gas sector.
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Other concerns were raised also border on the choice of the NNPC to beat the standing rule that no ministry, department and agency can award a contract that is up to $20 million in value.
A youth leader in Delta State and President of Urhobo Youth Leaders Association, Chief Francis Arhiyor, raised several objections over the manner the contract was awarded and the unusually inflated price tag placed on it.
Highlighting the loopholes in the contract award, Arhiyor, said “Number one, this is in violation of the Public Procurement Act, which is the statutory rule guiding how public contracts and services are awarded.
“It stipulates that no contract from the tune of $20million can be awarded by any MDA, without deliberation and the express permission of the federal executive council.
“This approval by the NNPC, although cleverly spread so that it will look like it has not knocked the $20 million thresholds, has violated that act.
“Furthermore, the operator of the asset, Heritage Energy Operational Services Ltd and Shoreline Natural Resources, as shrewd business people, had refused to agree to the new contract terms with Ocean Marine because of the inflated value, which will eventually be paid by them through ‘Cash Call’.
“When NPDC could not proceed with signing off on the contract because the Joint Venture Partners had declined, NNPC took it upon themselves to award the contract claiming that an Executive Order issued from Presidency demands that the contract is awarded immediately.
“There are many questions they have to answer; what is the rationale for re-awarding a running contract to a new contractor, at a value almost four times the rate it had previously been awarded to the former contractor? Who issued the said Executive Order?
“Why the secrecy and why shut others who could deliver the same service at a far lesser bid out? Why exclude the previous contractor, who had delivered an impeccable service because I gathered that there were no negative incidences on the facilities for the period the former contractor ran it?
“The NNPC, with all its baggage must provide answers to these questions. I guess you are aware that there have been a couple of very shady and question events that have been reported out of the corporation in the last few months, bordering on the question of non-remittance of accruals as well as awards that fell short of meeting due process.”
According to him, “I think President Buhari should take another look at the way that place is being run by those he has placed in charge; NNPC is directly under his watch and things like this can’t be sailing every time and he should expect us to continue believing he is still a man of integrity. The law of vicarious liability calls him to stand here.”
Spokesman of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Daniel Dasimaka, highlighted the inherent security threats associated with the new contract approved by the NNPC to Ocean Marine Ltd.
According to him, “they might not have paid any attention to the serious threat this poses to the peace and security of the communities and Delta state as a whole.
There’s a running contract, approved by the operators of the assets to a contractor that has been doing an awesome job on the assets; no reports of negative incidences and the communities are happy.
“Imagine the sort of tension that has attended this new approval in just a few days, the silent and cold wars. This is a latent crisis situation on our hands and I won’t buy the narrative that they never envisaged a war from this.
“Why award an already running contract to another company and the contract now inflated to about five times the rate of the initial contract? Awarding a security job to two different companies, in an area that is considered volatile is a perfect recipe for chaos and a sabotage to the relative peace of the area.
“Polarizing the youth bodies and ex-agitators is only a recipe for renewed militancy. The mindset of the youth is often times focused on destroying or attacking oil infrastructure to gain relevance and recognition. NNPC should not create the opportunity for this to happen.
“My appeal will go first to the GMD of the NNPC to have a second look at this security-risk of an action. Why approve such a huge contract without the input of the operators, is it for lack of a better coordination or is there something that the eyes mustn’t see?
“I will also call on all security agencies; the DSS, Nigerian Armed Forces and the police to step in now and stop this potential security risk. I am concerned, I don’t want them to turn my community and state to another war zone, “Dasimaka warned.
Nigerian Tribune, however, gathered that at the community level, thousands of youths and ex-militants from the 111 communities who are hosts to OML 30 assets are spoiling for a showdown if the issues raised are not swiftly resolved.
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