Those who are familiar with billionaire businessman, Capt. Idahosa Wells Okunbo, can vauch that he is one gentleman and philanthropist that put much effort and sacrifice into growing his businesses. It is a known fact that the Bini-beaded chief, at a time, took the risk to sell one of his private jets and diverted the proceeds to build the biggest and successful greenhouse farm in Nigeria. As a trained commercial pilot, he, in 1988, retired from piloting at the age of 30, having logged over 7,000 hours of flight time. He then ventured into private business. Through the years, the business magnate has invested in various sectors of the economy – agro-allied, petroleum, telecommunication, power, real estate and banking. His most notable business is Ocean Maritime Security Limited, OMSL, an offshore asset protection company. Over the years, the OMSL has gone further to provide premier security solutions that help to promote a safe business environment not only in Nigeria but in the entire West African Coast. But the company is about to lose a major brief which has been described as the firm’s cash cow: the Secure Anchorage Area (SAA), being operated on behalf of the Nigerian Navy. A Secure Anchorage Area is an area outside the Lagos Port that the Navy has defined as a secure place where vessels can anchor safely from the threat of pirate attack.
Spotlight gathered that Okunbo stands to lose a whopping $134 million should the cancellation of his SAA contract with the Navy falls through. Sources said vessels are charged $2,500 for the first day at the anchorage and $1,500 for subsequent days. It is also revealed that it takes between 28 and 30 days for a vessel to exit the anchorage. According to vessel traffic numbers by the NPA, 1,666 vessels call at the Lagos ports alone in a quarter and, a minimum of 55 per cent of vessels that call at the Lagos port, stays at the SAA. This means that Okunbo’s OMSL collects averagely $133.28 million (N47.98 billion) annually and has been doing so since 2014 when it got the consulting job. The Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, was said to have directed the NPA to write a letter to the Chief of Naval Staff to request that Okunbo’s IMSL stop the operation of the facility for non-remittance of fees collected since 2014 and also for concerns over security.
NPA also insisted that the security of the country’s waterways was the statutory responsibility of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Marine Police, and Nigerian Navy, which must all ensure safe and secure Nigeria territorial waters. But OMSL has said it did not intend to join issues with anyone seeking to disparage the company on the pages of newspapers for ulterior motives. While some are already implying that the move by the NPA smacks more of politics than economic-cum security concerns, sources close to the Edo State-born billionaire who was recently honoured with the prestigious Lafayette Awards in Geneva, Switzerland, said he remains unpertubed as he believes the issue will be resolved in his favour.