Atiku clears air on $100 million Intels sale

A former Nigerian Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has countered the claim that he still owns a stake in the oil and gas logistics company, Integrated Logistics Services Nigeria Limited (INTELS), which he sold in 2020 for $100 million.

The former president described the insinuation that he is a beneficiary of the company as mischievous, noting that his divestment from the company cannot be reversed.

Earlier yesterday, an online post on X, referencing a This Day publication, alleged that Atiku sold part of his stake to the current President, Bola Tinubu while remaining a minority shareholder.

The report also claimed that the federal government has reinstated its agreement with INTELS, alleging that the company is now under the leadership of Bola Tinubu.

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Responding to the allegation, the former vice President said that he made public in January 2021 his sales of his shares of the company, and he is no longer a beneficiary.

He said, “In January 2021, I made public the sale of my shares in Integrated Logistic Services Nigeria Limited (Intels) to Orlean Investment Group, the parent company of Intels.

“The phased sale of those shares that commenced in 2018 peaked in December 2020. Intels also made public my exit from the oil and gas logistics company, meaning that a different entity now owns those shares I sold.

“My divestment from the company that I co-founded has not been reversed. Consequently, by any stretch of the imagination, I cannot be a beneficiary of the reinstatement of the boat pilotage monitoring business that the Federal Government took away from Intels.

“Therefore, the insinuation that I am a beneficiary of the decision to rescind the cancellation of the contract between Intels and the Federal Government is untrue and should be seen for what it is: mischief.”

In October 2017, the federal government ordered the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to cancel the boat pilotage monitoring and supervision contract with INTELS.

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The NPA alleged that INTELS had declined to transfer boat pilotage revenue, amounting to approximately $207.646 million (N78.905 billion), along with other revenues.

INTELS in its reaction denied the allegations, adding that the NPA rather owed it.

The disagreement resulted in the cancellation of the company’s 17-year-old pilotage monitoring contract with the NPA.

Moreover, Atiku Abubakar sold his interests in INTELS following a running battle with the Nigerian government under former president Buhari.

The sale was completed through a series of transactions, an official at the logistics company confirmed.

He further stated that Abubakar exited the company with his family in December 2020, adding that the deals began in December 2018 and were concluded last year.