Amaechi

Some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria have petitioned the Speaker of the nation’s House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara over the alleged $195 million security contract awarded to an Israeli firm to patrol Nigerian waters.

The contract was allegedly awarded by the Ministry of Transportation headed by Rotimi Amaechi and the Defence Ministry under Mansur Mohammed Dan-Ali.

The petition which was titled ‘Petition on the ceding of Nigerians Coastal Waterways to HLSI Security Firms and Technologies and Commercialisation of the Nigerian Navy to Shorefac Consortium Ltd: This is an Aberration to our Sovereignty to National Security’ was signed by the CSOs and dated November 14, 2017.

In the petition which was laid before the House on Thursday, the CSOs said ceding the nation’s waterways and other critical assets of the country to foreign firms undermined the constitutional role of the nation’s armed forces and exposes the nation to security risks and ridicule among nations.

“Ceding our waterways and the critical national assets therein to foreign firms will definitely undermine the constitutional role of the Nigerian armed forces as prescribed by law and expose our nation to glaring security risks and ridicule among the comity of nations,” the petitioners stated.

“We are constrained to bring to the urgent attention of the National Assembly a recent report in the newspapers about the Ministry of Transportation contracting the security patrol of Nigerian Coastal Waterways to an Israeli firm, HLSI and Technologies at the cost of $195 million.

“Initially, we thought this was a hoax and an invention of reporters, but considering the wide reportage of this in national dailies, especially as the minister of transportation was quoted to have confirmed this recently at the World Maritime Day.

“The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali Mohammed, in concert with some individuals and foreign firms to throw the Nigerian Navy out of our waterways, has orchestrated a proposal which will be presented to the Federal Executive Council to cede the constitutional powers of the Navy to Shorefac Ltd in exchange of delivery of 100 fast boats to the Nigerian Navy,” they added.

The CSOs alleged that the desperate attempt to remove the policing of the nation’s waterways from the Navy was aimed at providing easier means of stealing and diverting the nation’s crude oil to global destinations and to shortchange the nation, not minding who gets hurt in the process.

The CSOs that signed the petition include Civil Advocacy Group for Accountability and Probity (CAGAP), Integrity Leaders International Development Initiative, Youth Advocacy for Credible Leadership, Civil Society Group for Good Governance, Independent Public Service Watch, North/South Youth Integrity Forum, Royal Empowerment for Development Initiative among others.