A proposed revenue-sharing settlement between the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Security Company (NIMASA) and a personal agency, Royal Diadem Consults Ltd, has sparked inside issues over its monetary and operational implications.
The settlement, at the moment awaiting approval from the Federal Government Council (FEC), would see Royal Diadem Consults obtain 13.5% of NIMASA’s whole income over a 15-year interval.
In change, the corporate has proposed to take a position N7.54 billion in creating a Maritime Digital Administration System (MEMS), an built-in digital platform aimed toward enhancing the company’s effectivity, transparency, and regulatory compliance.
In accordance with the proposal, 75% of the funding will come as a mortgage, whereas 25% will likely be fairness.
Royal Diadem initiatives that the MEMS initiative will considerably enhance operational effectivity via automation and digitisation in areas similar to:
The agency additionally claims the platform will drive a 30% income enhance inside three years, obtain 95% regulatory compliance, create 1,000 jobs, and scale back maritime air pollution by 20%.
Nevertheless, NIMASA employees and maritime specialists are pushing again. They argue that the proposed funding is simply too small to justify handing over a good portion of the company’s income for such an extended interval.
Inside memos and messages from NIMASA staff recommend deep skepticism. One employees member described the mission as a “glorified Digital Useful resource Planning system,” including that its features might be managed with normal licensing and assist contracts, not a 15-year revenue-sharing settlement.
“There’s no efficiency benchmark. Even when income stays the identical, they’re entitled to 13.5% 12 months after 12 months. That’s an enormous long-term payout for a system that carries no operational danger or enforcement duties,” one worker mentioned.
An skilled employees member, who has labored on main NIMASA initiatives just like the Deep Blue Mission and ERP implementation, questioned the choice to outsource such a mission.
“The Company paid for the Deep Blue Mission and Sage X3 ERP system from its personal revenues, these have been much more capital-intensive. Why can’t we do the identical for this MEMS?” he requested.
He additionally famous the absence of any enforcement or surveillance infrastructure within the proposal, saying that the mission lacks the spine to ship the outcomes it guarantees.
A number of employees members expressed issues over the evaluate and approval course of, alleging that the proposal bypassed key operational departments.
“To the shock of most employees, there was no inter-departmental evaluate committee. A correct cross-functional analysis would have flagged most of the points we’re seeing now,” mentioned one worker.
One other long-serving employees member referred to as the mission “a monetary Computer virus” designed to empty NIMASA’s assets with out delivering actual worth.
“With solely N7.5 billion being spent, no funding in surveillance or enforcement property, and no operational risk-sharing, the deal seems suspicious. It’s as if somebody is making an attempt to sneak via a concession deal underneath the radar,” he added.
Nevertheless, NIMASA, in an announcement reacting to the allegations by its employees, mentioned “there isn’t any iota of fact in these claims”.
“To set the data straight, following a complete inside evaluate of operational programs, the present management of NIMASA resolved to embrace expertise as a way of enhancing the Company’s capability to ship on its regulatory mandate extra successfully and to convey into the coffers of presidency extra income guarantee funds due authorities doesn’t find yourself in non-public fingers.
“A pivotal innovation on this regard is the Maritime Enhanced Monitoring System (MEMS). This method brings digital traceability to the core of Nigeria’s maritime operations.
“MEMS offers real-time visibility into vessel actions, operational logs, and regulatory interactions. By means of automated alerts, sensible invoicing, and centralized knowledge integration, NIMASA can now detect, doc, and reply to maritime actions with larger precision and effectivity, eliminating pointless bottlenecks whereas strengthening compliance,” the Company said.
NIMASA added that with MEMS, every waste offload might be logged, time-stamped, and mechanically billed, changing beforehand missed alternatives right into a constant income stream whereas guaranteeing environmental requirements are met.
Nevertheless, the Company’s assertion fails to handle the prices and income points raised by the involved employees.
