Intels agrees to a reduction of the agency commission on pilotage collections from 28% to a lower commission of 24.5%
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Intels Nigeria Limited agreed that all revenues collected by the logistic company must be paid into the designated Treasury Single Account (TSA) of the NPA at the Central Bank of Nigeria, PREMIUM TIMES' can report.
As part of the negotiation held to resolve the lingering conflict between the agency and the logistic company, both parties also agreed to a reduction of the agency commission on pilotage collections from 28% to a lower commission of 24.5%, court documents and other details of the reinstatement agreement seen by this newspaper showed.
In the immediate, the agreement ended the long-running battle between Intels and NPA.
Earlier at the weekend, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Nigerian government granted an extension to the boat service contract it entered with Intels Nigeria Limited as part of efforts to stop revenue leakage and improve the inflow of foreign exchange into government coffers.
Sources familiar with the matter told this newspaper on Saturday that the government, through the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), officially granted an extension to the contract following presidential directives and court consent judgment.
The NPA had in September 2020 announced the termination of the boat operation contract, directing all service boat owners and operators to do transactions directly in each port complex of the NPA.
But a Federal High Court in Lagos granted an interim injunction, preventing the termination of Intels' role as a managing agent in various Pilotage Districts. The injunction was issued in response to a suit filed by Intels and Deep Offshore Service Nigeria Limited, seeking to continue their duties pending the resolution of arbitration proceedings.
After prolonged negotiations and deliberations, the NPA on Thursday announced the extension of the contract through a memo addressed to all shipping companies and signed by the Ports Manager, Lagos Port Complex, Charles Okaga.
In the statement titled 'Reinstatement of Intels Nigeria Limited as the authority's service boat operations monitoring provider in the pilotage district', the NPA said the move aims to bolster revenue generation from Service Boat Operations, aligning with both the agency and federal government's objectives.
In accordance with the terms outlined in the Managing Agency Agreement, Intels Nigeria Limited has received a directive to promptly resume services. The company is expected to operate as the managing agent for Service Boat operations in the Lagos Pilotage District (LPD).
The new directive urged shipping companies to provide unrestricted access to information on pilotage movements for Intels, in addition to the provision of necessary assistance for a seamless commencement of operations.
PREMIUM TIMES has now obtained copies of the court consent judgement and other agreements reached by the parties.
Terms of Settlement
Documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES showed that the parties agreed to a waiver of the sum of $100, 000,000 (One Hundred Million United States Dollars) part of the accrued interest as of 31 July 2023 on the indebtedness to Deep Offshore Services Limited under the Phase 4B Agreement.
The party also agreed to a further waiver of the interest which shall accrue on the outstanding debt under the Phase 4B Agreement for two years commencing on 1 July 2023, and ending on 30 June 2025, which is currently estimated in the sum of US$93,317,556 (Ninety Three Million Three Hundred Seventeen Thousand Five Hundred Fifty Six United States Dollars).
The parties also agreed to a reduction of the interest rate on the indebtedness to Deep Offshore Services Limited and a reduction of the agency commission on Pilotage collections from 28 per cent to a lower commission of 24.5 per cent as opposed to increasing it due to the astronomical rise in the cost of operations.
The parties further agreed to spread the repayment of the debt over 15 years, with the first two years interest-free, which implies that all revenues collected by Intels Nigeria Limited must be paid into the designated TSA account of the NPA at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The parties agreed to a discontinuation of all litigation commenced by Intels and Deep Offshore in respect of NPA Public Tender No.4115 inviting Expressions of Interest to appoint a Managing Agent for NPA's four pilotage Districts in the Exclusive Economic Zone by the filing of the settlement reached by the parties in court to be adopted as a judgment of the court.
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"This will afford additional legal protection for the Authority against any other claims by those who have not been awarded any service Boat contract. A procuring entity (in this case NPA) also has the legal power to discontinue any unconcluded procurement process under the Public Procurement Act," the agreement reads.
Details of the agreement say that the concessions granted by Intels and Deep Offshore will earn a benefit for the NPA and the government to the tune of over US$ 500,000,00.00 by way of the interest waiver in respect of accrued interest and for additional two years up to 2025; the reduction in interest rate on the outstanding debt; the spread of the repayment of the debt over 15 years, with the first two years interest-free; and the reduction in agency commission from 28 per cent to 24.5 per cent.
